The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
For some, The Academy Nicholl Fellowship is the pièce de résistance that leads on to a stellar writing career perhaps punctuated with one or two of those ritzy golden statuettes.
Since the mid-’80s, it’s handed out over $4 million to more than 170 writers, with up to ve $35,000 fellowships awarded to amateur screenwriters each year. Note that it does lean toward Oscar-esque drama, but if you have such a script, then it’s worth throwing your hat into the ring.
Being an Academy Fellow is a passport to reaching heights even a writer’s imagination could not envision. Notable fellows include Susannah Grant, whose original screenplay Erin Brockovich went on to earn an Academy Award nomination, Ehren Kruger, who penned Arlington Road, The Brothers Grimm, and Disney’s live-action Dumbo, and Dennis Clontz, who later received a Pulitzer Prize for spot journalism as part of the Los Angeles Times team reporting on the Northridge earthquake.
DEADLINES: March to May
FEES: $45-$85
PRIZES: Up to five $35,000 fellowships
MORE INFO: oscars.org/nicholl MM
This article appears in MovieMaker’s Spring 2019 issue.
