Hosted and directed by Eric Nazarian

LOS ANGELES, CA – Actors Mamoudou Athie, Thora Birch, Jon Huertas and Q’orianka Kilcher will appear in a live reading of selected scenes from 2023’s five winning scripts at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and Live Read on April 25 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.  The program will be hosted and directed by 2008 Nicholl fellow Eric Nazarian.

2021 Academy Nicholl Fellows

Each grouping of scripts below is listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Byron Hamel
Shade of the Grapefruit Tree
Drama, Violent
When a severely abused white boy befriends his sci-fi obsessed Black landlady, his fantasy of becoming a robot empowers him to recklessly confront his murderous stepdad.

The 2021 Nicholl Fellowships finalists are (listed alphabetically by author)

Aaron C. Wong,  “Garamba”
Adam Everett, “Aurora”
Byron Hamel, “Shade of the Grapefruit Tree”
Haley Hope Bartels, “Pumping Black”
Jesse White, "Stronghold'
Karin Delapeña Collison, “Coming of Age”
Laura Kosann, “The Ideal Woman"
Michael A. Ouzas, "Third Man"
R.J. Daniel Hanna, “Shelter Animal”
Takeo Hori, “American Infamy”

2020 Academy Nicholl Fellows

James Acker
SadBoi
Drama, Coming of Age, LGBT
Thrown out of the house, an emotionally-stunted high schooler must revisit old friends and repair burnt bridges all in the name of finding a place to sleep.

Beth Curry
Lemon
Drama, Family/Kids
When Lemon’s agoraphobic mother dies suddenly, five-year-old Lemon goes outside for the first time in search of her father. Beasts of a Southern Wild meets Room.

Hosted by Aldis Hodge and directed by Burlee and Abel Vang

Scripts to be presented at virtual table read in December

Five individuals have been selected as winners of the 2020 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.  The fellows will each receive a $35,000 prize and be highlighted at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards and Virtual Table Read on Thursday, December 3, where an ensemble of actors will read selected scenes from the winning scripts.

The 2020 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):

The 2020 Nicholl Fellowships finalists are (listed alphabetically by author)

Andrew Wankier, “Three Heavens”
Beth Curry, “Lemon”
David Harrison Turner, “Safe Haven”
Fred Martenson, “Demons in America”
James Acker, “SadBoi”
Jane Therese, “Sins of My Father”
Kate Marks, “The Cow of Queens”
Kris A. Holmes, “The Seeds of Truth”
Robin Rose Singer, “The Lions of Mesopotamia”
Vanar Jaddou, “Goodbye, Iraq”