Some of you know about the Nicholl, others will not.
It is a a screenwriting contest run by the folks behind the Academy Awards.
It's open to non-professional screenwriters. You can enter provided your "total earnings for motion picture and television writing may not exceed US$25,000 before the end of the competition".
Up to five $35,000 fellowships are awarded annually.
If you place in their Finals (9 to 11) or are awarded a Fellowship (5), you will likely land an agent (if you don't already have one), and you'll get a lot of read requests from the industry. Some Nicholl winning scripts have sold and gone into production, Short Term 12 being one of the most recent.
This year's contest will open shortly.
There are three deadlines for 2014:
It is a highly competitive contest and difficult to place in, but if you do, some doors like open. Even placing in the quarterfinals, can open doors. State your placement in query letters.
The folks who place will also receive read requests from various prodcos and agencies. The higher your placing, the more read requests you will receive. The Nicholl send details (logline and contact email) of the scripts that place (provided the writer agrees - you can opt out if you so wish) to a list of agencies/prodcos they have at the end of the contest. That's a great benefit to anyone who places.
The Nicholl is the screenwriting contest to place in. It's #1 by a huge margin.
It's also non-profit. They actually make a very big $$$ loss every year. 99.99% of screenwriting contests are run to earn money and profit for the organizers, not so the Nicholl. The Nicholl's aim is to discover (and aid) screenwriting talent.
They also guarantee that every script will be read by at least two readers in the first round.
Readers are told to ignore screenplay potential budget and marketability (or non-marketability) of the subject area.
If you love screenwriting and want a chance to break in, enter the Nicholl.
Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting - About
http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/about/index.html
We have recently published a series of articles on the Nicholl:
It is a a screenwriting contest run by the folks behind the Academy Awards.
It's open to non-professional screenwriters. You can enter provided your "total earnings for motion picture and television writing may not exceed US$25,000 before the end of the competition".
Up to five $35,000 fellowships are awarded annually.
If you place in their Finals (9 to 11) or are awarded a Fellowship (5), you will likely land an agent (if you don't already have one), and you'll get a lot of read requests from the industry. Some Nicholl winning scripts have sold and gone into production, Short Term 12 being one of the most recent.
This year's contest will open shortly.
There are three deadlines for 2014:
- early bird is February 28 ($35 entry fee)
- regular is April 10 ($50 entry fee)
- late is May 1 ($65 entry fee)
It is a highly competitive contest and difficult to place in, but if you do, some doors like open. Even placing in the quarterfinals, can open doors. State your placement in query letters.
The folks who place will also receive read requests from various prodcos and agencies. The higher your placing, the more read requests you will receive. The Nicholl send details (logline and contact email) of the scripts that place (provided the writer agrees - you can opt out if you so wish) to a list of agencies/prodcos they have at the end of the contest. That's a great benefit to anyone who places.
The Nicholl is the screenwriting contest to place in. It's #1 by a huge margin.
It's also non-profit. They actually make a very big $$$ loss every year. 99.99% of screenwriting contests are run to earn money and profit for the organizers, not so the Nicholl. The Nicholl's aim is to discover (and aid) screenwriting talent.
They also guarantee that every script will be read by at least two readers in the first round.
Readers are told to ignore screenplay potential budget and marketability (or non-marketability) of the subject area.
If you love screenwriting and want a chance to break in, enter the Nicholl.
Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting - About
http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/about/index.html
We have recently published a series of articles on the Nicholl:
Introduction to the Nicholl Fellowship
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/Nicholl-Fellowships.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #1: What are Nicholl judges looking for?
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-1.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #2: What Makes a Great Script - the Nicholl answers
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-2.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #3: What Makes a Great Story?
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-3.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #4: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Dialogue
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-4.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #5: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Characters
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-5.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #6: Nicholl and AFF Screenplay Competition Directors talk Screenplay Conflict
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-6.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #7: AFF Screenplay Competition Director talks about Verbose Descriptions
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-7.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #8: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Formatting
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-8.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #9: Nicholl Reader Comments
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-9.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #10: Nicholl Fellowship - additional FAQ
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-10.php
Many Nicholl semifinalist, finalist and fellowship-winning writers have gone on to have highly successful screen or teleplay writing careers - a sample:http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/Nicholl-Fellowships.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #1: What are Nicholl judges looking for?
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-1.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #2: What Makes a Great Script - the Nicholl answers
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-2.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #3: What Makes a Great Story?
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-3.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #4: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Dialogue
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-4.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #5: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Characters
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-5.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #6: Nicholl and AFF Screenplay Competition Directors talk Screenplay Conflict
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-6.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #7: AFF Screenplay Competition Director talks about Verbose Descriptions
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-7.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #8: The Nicholl Fellowship advises on Screenplay Formatting
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-8.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #9: Nicholl Reader Comments
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-9.php
How to Win a Nicholl Fellowship #10: Nicholl Fellowship - additional FAQ
http://reelauthors.com/script-analysis-coverage/how-to-win-a-Nicholl-Fellowship-10.php
- Melissa Rosenberg (semifinalist) - "Twilight" series screenwriter, "Dexter"
- Scott Rosenberg (finalist) - "Beautiful Girls", "Con Air", "Happy Town"
- Vince Gilligan (semifinalist) - "Home Fries", "The X Files", "Breaking Bad"
- Diane Ademu-John (semifinalist) - "Medium", "Body of Proof"
- Michael Arndt (semifinalist) - "Little Miss Sunshine", "Toy Story 3"
- Susannah Grant (fellow) - "Erin Brockovich", "Catch and Release", "A Gifted Man"
- Gavin Hood (semifinalist) - "Tsotsi", 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine"
- Ehren Kruger (fellow) - "Arlington Road", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
- Damon Lindelof (semifinalist) - "Lost", "Cowboys & Aliens", "Prometheus"
- Jon Spaihts (semifinalist) - "Prometheus", "The Darkest Hour"
- Meredith Stiehm (semifinalist) - "Cold Case", "Homeland"
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