
Beverly Hills, CA – Five writers have been selected as winners of the 25th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Each writer will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 4.
This year’s winners are (listed alphabetically by author):
Destin Daniel Cretton, San Diego, Calif., “Short Term 12”
Marvin Krueger, North Hollywood, Calif., “And Handled with a Chain”
Andrew Lanham, Austin, Texas, “The Jumper of Maine”
Micah Ranum, Beverly Hills, Calif., “A Good Hunter”
Cinthea Stahl, North Hollywood, Calif., “Identifying Marks”The winners were selected from 6,304 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a “first look” clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.
Final judging of the competition was conducted by the Nicholl Committee, chaired by producer Gale Anne Hurd and composed of writers Naomi Foner, Daniel Petrie, Jr., Tom Rickman and Dana Stevens; actor Eva Marie Saint; cinematographers John Bailey and Steven B. Poster; executive Bill Mechanic; producers Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro; and agent Ronald R. Mardigian.


Congrats! One of my manager’s clients in on the list!
How does he/she have a manager if they’ve never been optioned or sold? Hmm.
I dreamed of winning a Nicholls — and still do. I am totally stoked for all of the winners. May they use this unequivocally awesome triumph as a springboard to a great, sweet and productive career.
Good job, all. And congrats again!
(One thing did, however, catch my eye: the number of Californian winners. Is there a disproportionately higher number of Californians who apply, or does this contest favor people who may be known to the industry or have contacts with potential judges, all of which may give them a favorable nudge? The lack of women winners also caught my eye. Can’t tell if there’s a lack of diversity in terms of minorities. Not that any of THAT should matter because good writing is good writing, right? Just curious…)
Regarding the disproportionate of Californians, why jump to conspiracy theories? Folks who have moved out here to write are, for the most part, probably more serious about their writing careers than those who haven’t. Given that, they probably have more writing experience under their belt, have taken classes, found mentors, etc.
In other words, they’re more apt to place highly in a writing competition.
Right, chances are the most of the “local” winners in fact moved here from somewhere else in order to seriously pursue a screenwriting career.
I just think a lot of wannabe writers move to the Los Angeles area.
Congrats guys! Hopefully the beginning of long careers.
Congratulations to the winners. Can’t wait to see their work on the big screen. Any place to see the storylines of the winners? I submitted (first script) but curious to see what types win.
I stopped following the Nicholl which, BTW calls itself an INTERNATIONAL contest, a few years back. Every year the same story, the same questions, the same BS explanations. This is the technology age, one does not need to be physically present in order to partake in workshops or classes etc. anymore. One can even work with a mentor via email and videochat, share documents easily, etc.
If someone already lives in LA, should this person not be able to make connections? That’s what the old fashioned workshops and classes and whatnot are for. To schmooze and network, to create opportunities. Doesn’t say anything about the quality of the writing, of course. You be the judge if it says anything about the dedication and resourcefulness of the writers.
What is the track record of the Nicholl? Is its prestige earned or a myth? Their winners should be so successful! After all, the winners also get invited to a number of events held in LA in the course of the year. Schmoozefests. Should enable those brilliant winners to start their professional writing careers. I’m not being sarcastic, I’d really like to know b/c that’s the first question to ask about any writing contest that charges a fee.
If the Nicholl still takes money from writers outside of Cali and even outside of the US, they should at least create three separate categories: Cali, rest of US, international. Something they should have done a decade ago already.
Winners have gone on to great big writing careers.
Look up on the website past alumni. I think you’ll choke on your pudding after reading.
Thank you.
A member of my online writing group, Lee Patterson, won his Nicholl fellowship two years ago with “Snatched.” He wrote and lived in London at the time.
In any event, all judging is blind. Nobody knows names, genders, or locations of the screenwriter when they are reading the script.
Writers in and around L.A. are likely here because they are serious about having a writing career. That may translate into generally better scripts from locals on the whole, but by no means guarantees anything for anyone who lives here or does not.
Winning Nicholl, like most other successes in screenwriting, is just a next step and not an end in itself. The writer can use the heat from winning or placing in Nicholl to obtain representation (if they don’t have it yet) and get meetings for assignments based on the strength of their Nicholl script.
It’s a great accomplishment but doesn’t guarantee anyone anything other than an opportunity to build on that success.