2023 Screenplay Award Finalists

Rachel Leighson is a bi-coastal writer, actor, and singer. Writing credits include: Little Egg, Big World (honorary mention for the 2022 Jane Chambers award in feminist playwriting), Blood on My Mother's Apron (nominated for nine 2021 Broadway World awards, including best new play), The Scarcity of

Annique Arredondo is an outspoken Latinx screenwriter, filmmaker, and social activist who, growing up along the border of San Diego, was never Latin enough for the Latinxs, or American enough for the Americans. Her goal: to convey a fresh perspective on what it means to be bicultural, female, and

I am a former journalist, publisher, TV producer and media executive, now writing books (crime fiction) and TV scripts (comedy and drama). I am a Brit, now based in Sydney, Australia.

Born in Maine, I've lived in Los Angeles, New York, Massachusetts and Ireland for stretches. I'm inspired by the real people in my life, love to research to enrich my projects beyond what I've got in my own head, and find the comedy in the serious.

T. C. Smith's career was launched when he won the Nicholl Fellowship. He has written for the big screen, the small screen and the stage. He has worked for Fox Television, Fox Family Films, ABC, Disney, the Disney Channel, Warner Brothers and Showtime. He co-wrote and co-starred in the controversial

Condemned to writing by audition room butterflies, now serves consecutive sentences in Portland, Oregon. Influences include Shepard, Beckett, Mamet, Pinter, and Stoppard.

Since dropping out of film school to be a rock star. I've been in love, pain, debt, accidents, bands, bomb shelters, and a bad music video for a Norwegian girl group. I've been writing it all down, reaching the finals at Nashville Film Fest (twice), LA Screenplay Awards, Creative World Awards, and

A lawyer by trade, Ryan recently embraced his quarantine escapism as a new life goal: share all those crazy stories floating around his head. With genres ranging from historical biopics to sci-fi comedies, Ryan hopes to educate and entertain the masses with his unique blend of humor and thrilling

Andrea’s experiences as a nurse, flight attendant, and avid traveler have provided her with a unique global background from which she draws her inspiration. It imbues her scripts with a level of detail and authenticity that have been well received in the industry. Her first screenplay titled “The

Miguel del Campo (Writer, Director, Producer, Editor) is a filmmaker born and raised in Mexico who grew up fascinated by the Hollywood industry. Molded by the vast culture and beauty of his home country Mexico, Miguel's passion for the entertainment industry was born from his dream to share his

Shirley's training in mental health counseling inspires her fiction. Her stories often include various features of psychology as she loves researching and learning about unusual psychological conditions, then surprising her readers with those elusive conditions in her stories. She's also a single

Hilary Angelo is an actress turned writer known for her roles in AMERICAN PIE and CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR. Recently, she sold a spec TV pilot to Mark Gordon/Eone called PATIENT ZERO based on disease detectives at the Centers for Disease Control. Sony TV bought a time travel pilot spec she wrote called

R.L.’s life in film began at Miramax Films followed up by earning an MFA from USC. His short THE KNIFE GRINDER’S TALE screened at festivals around the world, including The Telluride Film Festival. After taking a break from the film industry to take care of his ailing father, get married and raise

I am a new screenwriter. Hobart College, BS Creative writing, Professor Sibyl Johnson, Tufts University “Screenwriting”, Anne Jordan (NORCAL Screenwriter) Santa Rosa J. College, California WOODS HOLE FILM FESTIVAL, winner. FILMATIC, winner. ACCLAIM SCRIPTS, winner. LOS ANGELES SCREENPLAY FESTIVAL

A conqueror of fears, Travis has taken his acrophobia to the top of a 108-foot-tall Mayan temple, swam with sharks, and attended a mixer where he knew no one. He currently has a feature film project setup with Eclectic Pictures as well as a forthcoming graphic novel through Motor Content and Thunder

A conqueror of fears, Travis has taken his acrophobia to the top of a 108-foot-tall Mayan temple, swam with sharks, and attended a mixer where he knew no one. He currently has a feature film project setup with Eclectic Pictures as well as a forthcoming graphic novel through Motor Content and Thunder

My adult daughter said, "You know, Dad. seems like you've had 50 careers." The list includes HS English teacher, studio musician, stand-up comic. Was represented by Brenda Feigen at William Morris from 84-87. Swore I'd never return to screenwriting until I did in 2019. Won many awards, top 2% on

I am a creative soul, the first in my family to get to go to University where I studied film. Unfortunately, I was never able to break into the entertainment industry, but still have a passion for storytelling and look for opportunities to express creativity. I was in the short list last for last

Some of my biggest inspirations creatively are Stephen King, Thomas Harris, William Peter Blatty, William Goldman and Kenneth Lonergan. I aspire to one day make these novelists and screenwriters my competition and hope that people will compare me to them favourably. I’m confident I’ll achieve this

I was born a vagabond spirit and have yet to learn the meaning of “comfort zone.” My life has been and continues to be sui generis. All that follows is a standard literary CV for an extremely non-standard career. ***** In high school, I was an editor of the underground paper, The Charlotte

I was born a vagabond spirit and have yet to learn the meaning of “comfort zone.” My life has been and continues to be sui generis. All that follows is a standard literary CV for an extremely non-standard career. ***** In high school, I was an editor of the underground paper, The Charlotte

Hailing from the woods of North Carolina by way of the byzantine streets of New Orleans, Robert is a multi-award winning screenwriter specializing in mystery and suspense. His work has been optioned twice and has reached the finals of the Austin Film Festival, Slamdance, Bluecat and Page

Dru Bhattacharya is an author, poet, screenwriter, and aspiring novelist. His pilot feature, The Grey Eminence, has received numerous accolades, including placement in the L.A. International Screenplay Awards; The Film Empire Diversity Mentorship; Table Read My Screenplay Genre Screenplay

STATON RABIN is a screenwriter, and a YA novelist (Simon & Schuster) with a global audience. She's hired for her skill in adapting IP, true stories, & biographies into screenplays with roles that are catnip to A-list actors. She wrote a feature script based on Alex Rosenberg's Holocaust novel "The

Teodora is a freelance screenwriter with a love for romance, drama and mystery. She started writing scripts in college but her love for storytelling really grew in University, where she started working independently on her own script ideas. She values her ability to have ideas in a range of genres

David Ward was born and raised in Salt Lake City and has lived in Shanghai, Honolulu, Taiwan and northern Virginia. Drawn to writing by his love of Russian literature, he supports his writing habit by working as a corporate attorney.

After earning a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Hofstra University, Denise attended the USC Graduate film producing program while simultaneously holding her first job in Hollywood as a production assistant at Amblin’. Denise was a Story Editor at 20th Century Fox, a Development Executive at several

Meredith Wargo is an award-winning author and advocate for animals. The recipient of four Maxwell Medallions from the Dog Writers of Association of America, she has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Although a native Texan, Meredith currently lives in southern

Following a twenty-three-year career in Arts Theatre Management, Steve retrained with the Yorkshire Academy of Film and Television Acting (YAFTA) and gained a Diploma in Applied Screenwriting (Distinction) in July 2019, under the tutelage of Simon Stirling. Steve has already received commissions for

Stowe Story Labs alumna. Writer/director of an award-winning short THE ZAHIR. Trilingual multi-ethnic multinational. Mathematician whose journey led from humble beginnings in the Urals to professorships in Berkeley and Berlin. Olga's writing explores follies of genius, elusiveness of belonging, and

Josephine is a classical violinist-turned-TV writer based in New York City. She began her career on Broadway, as a Music Assistant on "Hamilton" and "Dear Evan Hansen." She's worked on 10 Broadway shows, a sold-out Lady Gaga concert, and the Steven Spielberg movie musical adaptation of West Side