Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

Overview

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a screenwriting competition run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Established in 1986, the program awards up to five $35,000 fellowships annually to promising emerging screenwriters. From the program's inception through 2022, 192 fellowships totaling $5.08 million have been awarded. Winners receive individualized Academy member mentorship and are expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during their fellowship year.

Starting with the 2025 competition, the Nicholl Fellowships changed its submission process fundamentally. The program no longer accepts direct open submissions from the public. Instead, it exclusively partners with global university programs, screenwriting labs, and filmmaker programs to identify potential fellows. Each partner vets and submits scripts for consideration. Two public portals remain available: The Black List and the Writers Guild Foundation.

For the 2026-2027 cycle, The Black List opens to public submissions on June 8, 2026 and closes on July 6, 2026, or when 2,500 entries have been received, whichever comes first. The Writers Guild Foundation opens on June 22, 2026 and closes on July 20, 2026, or when 2,000 entries have been received. Each portal recommends its top 1% of submissions (approximately 25 screenplays from The Black List and 20 from the WGF) for entry into the Nicholl Fellowships. Non-public portal partners conduct their own searches to refer up to two screenplays each.

All partner-recommended screenplays are read and judged by Academy members participating in the Nicholl Fellowships program. The Nicholl Fellowships Executive Committee selects up to five fellows from approximately 10 to 15 finalists, with winners announced in spring 2027.

What It Covers

Each fellow receives $35,000, disbursed in installments over the fellowship year, subject to satisfactory progress on at least one original feature film screenplay as judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee. The fellowship is designed to give writers time and financial support to focus on writing.

Beyond the cash award, fellows receive:

• Academy member mentorship - individualized guidance from an Academy member during the fellowship year
• Awards week participation - fellows are invited to Los Angeles for awards week ceremonies and seminars
• Industry visibility - the Nicholl credential attracts attention from agents, managers, and producers who track the competition results
• Career acceleration - placing as a quarterfinalist, semifinalist, or finalist is itself a meaningful credential that can open doors to representation and development deals

Eligibility

The Nicholl Fellowships targets emerging screenwriters. The core eligibility rule has remained consistent: an entrant's total lifetime earnings for motion picture and television writing may not exceed $25,000 USD before the end of the competition. This threshold applies to compensation for writing services as well as the sale of (or sale of an option on) screenplays, teleplays, stage plays, books, treatments, stories, premises, and any other source material. Fellowship and competition prize money is generally not counted as earnings unless it includes a "first look" clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work.

Additional eligibility requirements:

• Entrants must be human (no production companies or AI agents/entities) and aged 18 or older
• Current Academy employees, officers, Governors, Trustees, current Nicholl Executive Committee members, and their immediate families are not eligible
• Active and Emeritus Academy members and their immediate families are not eligible
• Alumni of any Academy talent development program are not eligible until two years past completion
• Previous Nicholl Fellowship winners are not eligible to enter again
• A referred writer must wait two years before being referred again by a Nicholl partner

Script Requirements

• Must be an original feature film screenplay (no shorter than 80 pages and no longer than 125 pages, in standard 12-point Courier format)
• Scripts exceeding 125 pages may have their length counted against them during judging
• Must be written originally in English (no third-party translations, including translation software)
• No multi-part or episodic scripts accepted
• Must be the original work of the entrant(s) and may not be based on any other fiction or nonfiction material, published or unpublished, produced or unproduced
• Entries may be adapted from the entrant's own original work, which must be noted in the logline
• Scripts that include dialogue, characters, or scene description generated by artificial intelligence are ineligible
• Entries lacking a logline on the application form will be disqualified
• Collaborative work by two writers who share equally in its creation is eligible; collaborative work by three or more writers is not eligible
• Writing partners selected as fellows divide the fellowship stipend equally

How to Apply

The application process changed significantly starting with the 2025 competition. Writers can no longer submit directly to the Academy. There are two paths to entry:

Path 1: Public Portal Submissions

The Black List:

• Opens June 8, 2026, closes July 6, 2026 (or 2,500 entries, whichever comes first)
• The Black List conducts its own judging process and recommends its top 1% (approximately 25 screenplays) to the Nicholl Fellowships
• Visit blcklst.com for submission details and fees

Writers Guild Foundation:

• Opens June 22, 2026, closes July 20, 2026 (or 2,000 entries, whichever comes first)
• The WGF conducts its own judging process and recommends its top 1% (approximately 20 screenplays) to the Nicholl Fellowships
• Visit wgfoundation.org for submission details

Both portals have their own submission processes, fees, and judging criteria. Writers are encouraged to visit their respective websites for details. Being recommended by a portal does not guarantee selection as a Nicholl fellow.

Path 2: Non-Public Partner Referrals

The Academy also partners with global university programs, screenwriting labs, and filmmaker programs that conduct their own searches to refer up to two screenplays each for Nicholl consideration. These partners are not publicly listed. Writers already affiliated with these programs may be referred directly.

After Referral

Once a screenplay is recommended by a partner or portal, the entrant must register with the Nicholl Fellowships and submit a completed application form, including affirming eligibility. If requested, the entrant must provide one PDF file of the original feature film screenplay. All recommended screenplays are judged by Academy members, with finalists selected by the Nicholl Fellowships Executive Committee.

Notable Past Fellows

The Nicholl Fellowships has launched the careers of numerous working screenwriters over its nearly 40-year history. Past fellows include writers who went on to write produced features, television series, and studio development projects:

• Susannah Grant (1992 Fellow) - Went on to write Erin Brockovich (2000), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Theatrical release by Universal Pictures. Also wrote 28 Days, The Soloist, and Confirmation (HBO).

• Andrew W. Marlowe (1992 Fellow) - Went on to write Air Force One (1997), released by Columbia Pictures. $315.2 million worldwide box office. Also wrote Hollow Man and End of Days, and created the TV series Castle.

• Mike Rich (1998 Fellow) - Went on to write Finding Forrester (2000), directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Connery. Released by Columbia Pictures. Also wrote The Rookie, Radio, The Nativity Story, Secretariat, and Cars 3.

• Ehren Kruger (1996 Fellow) - Went on to write Arlington Road (1999), released by Screen Gems. Also wrote The Ring, Scream 3, the Transformers franchise, and co-wrote Top Gun: Maverick.

What Makes a Competitive Application

1. Lifetime earnings cap of $25,000 - Total film and television writing income must not exceed $25,000 USD before the competition ends. This includes all writing services, sales, and options.
2. Partner referral required - The Academy no longer accepts direct public submissions. Writers must go through The Black List, the Writers Guild Foundation, or a non-public partner organization.
3. Original feature screenplays only - 80 to 125 pages in standard 12-point Courier format. No adaptations from third-party material. No AI-generated content.
4. English language only - Scripts must be written originally in English. No third-party translations, including translation software.
5. Two public portals with caps - The Black List accepts 2,500 entries and recommends its top 1 percent (approximately 25 scripts). The WGF accepts 2,000 entries and recommends its top 1 percent (approximately 20 scripts). Early submission is advisable.
6. Academy member judging - All partner-recommended scripts are read and judged by Academy members. The Nicholl Fellowships Executive Committee selects up to five fellows from approximately 10 to 15 finalists.

Notable Context

The Nicholl Fellowships was named after Gee Nicholl, a television writer whose estate provided the initial endowment. The program has been running for nearly 40 years and has launched the careers of numerous working screenwriters.

The shift to a partner-based referral system in 2025 was a significant departure from the program's previous open-submission model, which had received over 7,000 entries annually and capped at 5,500 screenplays. Under the old system, entry fees were $50 (early deadline), $70 (regular deadline), and $120 (late deadline). The new system shifts the vetting responsibility to partner organizations, with the Academy judging only the recommended screenplays.

The $25,000 lifetime earnings cap is the program's defining eligibility constraint. It is calculated across all film and television writing income, not just the submitted script. A writer who has sold a single option for $5,000 and earned $20,000 in writing fees is at the cap and ineligible. Writers should calculate their total writing income carefully before pursuing a Nicholl submission through either portal.

Additional Past Fellows

The Nicholl Fellowships has run since 1986 and awarded 192 fellowships totaling $5.08 million through 2022. The program's track record is the strongest evidence that its selection process identifies writers who go on to working careers. Named fellows and what happened to their winning scripts:

• Jeffrey Eugenides (1986) - One of the inaugural fellows. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Middlesex. His Nicholl entry was prose and stage work, reflecting the program's original broader scope before it narrowed to screenplays.
• Allison Anders (1986) - Inaugural fellow. Went on to write and direct Gas Food Lodging and Mi Vida Loca, and to co-create the Sundance series Sex & Love.
• Doug Atchison (2000) - Directed his winning script Akeelah and the Bee (2006), winning an NAACP Image Award for Best Screenplay. The script was a deeply researched, character-led drama about a South Los Angeles girl competing in the National Spelling Bee.

• Destin Daniel Cretton (2010) - Directed his winning script Short Term 12 (2013), which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Later directed Just Mercy and Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. His Nicholl script was drawn from his own time working at a residential facility for at-risk teens.

• Nikole Beckwith (2012) - Directed her winning script Stockholm, Pennsylvania, which premiered at Sundance. Wrote and directed Together Together (2021), which premiered at Sundance.
• Sara Crow and David Rafailedes (2025-2026) - Winning script Satoshi, referred through NYU Tisch School of the Arts. The 2025-2026 class also included Leo Aguirre (Verano, via Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab), Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany (The Washroom, via Urbanworld Festival), Lynn McKee (I'm Ready to Go Anywhere, via The Black List), and Katla Sólnes (Eruption, via Columbia University School of the Arts).

The Academy publishes a full Notable Fellows page and a history page listing fellows by year.

What Made Winning Applications Stand Out

The Nicholl Fellowships is judged by Academy member volunteers, and the committee's stated criteria reward three things that show up consistently across the fellow list:

• A distinct authorial voice. The scripts that advance are not competent-but-generic. They read like they could only have been written by that specific writer. Destin Daniel Cretton's Short Term 12 carried the specificity of someone who had actually worked in a group home, not a researched approximation.
• Emotionally specific, personally rooted stories over high-concept genre. The fellow list skews toward character drama, coming-of-age, and socially grounded stories. Pure genre scripts and high-concept thrillers rarely win, even when technically polished.
• Disciplined structure inside an original premise. Originality without craft does not advance. Winning scripts are tightly structured, with clean act breaks and economy of scene, even when the subject matter is unusual. Scripts over 125 pages are explicitly penalized for length.
• A complete, standalone feature screenplay. The committee judges the script as a finished work, not a pitch or a treatment. The script has to deliver a satisfying read on its own.

The annual awards ceremony includes a live table read of scenes from the winning scripts performed by working actors, which is itself an indicator of what the committee rewards: scripts whose scenes work aloud, in front of an audience.

Renewal Requirements

The Nicholl Fellowship is a one-year, non-renewable award. There is no renewal process and previous winners are permanently ineligible to enter again. The $35,000 stipend is disbursed in installments across the fellowship year, and each installment is contingent on satisfactory progress on at least one original feature screenplay as judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee. If the committee determines a fellow is not making adequate progress, subsequent installments can be withheld. Fellows are expected to complete at least one original feature screenplay during the fellowship year, but the resulting script is not owned by the Academy and carries no production obligation.

A referred writer who is not selected as a fellow must wait two years before being referred again by a Nicholl partner.

Who Should Pay Attention

Emerging screenwriters who have completed a feature-length screenplay and have not earned more than $25,000 in lifetime film and television writing income. Writers from any country are eligible provided the script is written in English and meets the format requirements.

Because the program now requires partner or portal submission, writers should evaluate both public portals (The Black List and the Writers Guild Foundation) to determine which offers the better path for their script. Each portal has its own fees, judging process, and submission limits. The Black List caps at 2,500 entries and the WGF at 2,000, so early submission is advisable.

Writers already affiliated with a university screenwriting program, a screenwriting lab, or a filmmaker development program should ask their program directors whether their organization is a Nicholl partner. If so, the internal referral process may provide a more direct path than the public portals.

Watch: Fellowships & Conversations

See Also

For understanding the screenwriting development landscape, see Screenwriting Essentials. To explore the business side of screenwriting contracts and compensation structures, visit the Filmmaker Glossary. For other screenwriting opportunities, see CAPE New Writers Fellowship and Berlinale Talents.