2023 Screenplay Award Finalists

I’m a full time and life long practitioner and teacher of the yogic arts currently living and working in a spiritual community in central California. For me, writing and creating are an integral part of the process of spiritual life and development. Realizing my inner inspiration and my unique

I write. Sometimes code. Sometimes screenplays. Sometimes lengthy work emails. I've been told that all three make people cry. But I suspect it's for vastly different reasons.

I'm a writer from jolly old England who many years ago, used to write short stories and scripts in my spare time. Somewhere along the way, I stopped writing them until a few years ago where I rediscovered the passion and made a conscious effort to rebuild that love, and hone those skills. Now, I'm

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

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

Scintillating sci-fi & historical fusion drive my storytelling. No period-accurate dramas on societal norms here. Instead, try a WW1 body horror about a scientist secretly experimenting on missing soldiers. Wait, that's the plot of my screenplay Phantom Walls. (Screencraft 2023- Finalist). I've also

Florence is a writer and actor, raised in Ireland, currently living in Los Angeles. She has worked in the film industry for over a decade, performing in hit TV shows such as Dublin Murders, Foundation and Departure.

A writer/director whose short films have been selected for various festivals, most notably Palm Springs International. In 2022 he directed a pilot for a 6-part television series set in London. Tim is determined to make meaningful action films that his wife and daughter would watch over and over

My scripts have placed in numerous competitions and have even won a few awards. Creating new worlds and unseen lands at the tip of a pen is exhilarating. Stories should excite and inspire. They should leave the reader in a different headspace from when they first started. Best job ever. Happy

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

The majority of my life has been teaching, coaching and athletics. Coming back to writing, I'm grateful for how much the artistic process brings out in us, no matter what we're doing, as long as we're giving it everything we have and there's some real obstacles in the way. For instance, writing this

I am an author and a screenwriter. My writings focus on historical dramas, fiction, and fantasy. Originally from Northern Iraq, I was born into the Chaldean Christian ethnic group before moving to the United States, where I grew up. While in the corporate world, I traveled extensively and lived in

Hannah J Shaw is a British writer with a BA Hons degree in Creative and Professional Writing with International Experience. Last year she completed her international scholarship year at The University of Canberra, ACT, Australia. Originally a waitress, Hannah was encouraged to pursue her writing by

I like writing and re-writing which is lucky. I hold an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College and studied screenwriting with NYFA and Sundance Collab. My screenplays WOLF CRAZY and BUCK HUNTER IN MANHATTAN (which was a Finalist in the 2023 Page Turner Awards) have placed in a few festivals. Currently

Sal brings a jetsetter's suitcase full of experiences to his writing. He is the son of Sicilian immigrants, a U.S.A.F. Veteran in SATCOM and Aircraft Maintenance, a government contractor, drummer, and former restauranteur. Having seen the world through a traveler's eyes -- living it with the wonder

Alysha grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, performing on the professional stage from the age of five. She found her place on the other side of the camera and produced commercials and music videos for several years in Los Angeles. But after a last-minute change of plans kept her from traveling on

Retired fire chief. Faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College. Former dolphin trainer and whale scientist. Baja, motocross, and desert racer. Now carving out a new career as a writer.

Jon has a particular love of the crime, thriller, and horror genres. He currently has a portfolio of three features and two TV-pilot scripts, with another pilot in the works. Jon Addison uses his challenging childhood and early life experiences of paranoia to explore messy, complex characters

As an accomplished writer, Matt has crafted six short stories and a TV pilot, garnering 70 accolades, including twice being a finalist at the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards and a second-rounder at the Austin Film Festival. Matt's educational background includes a major in media

Alex is a writer & director. His stories often place characters in morally ambiguous situations that threaten their identity and force them to confront their humanity. Before being a writer and director, Alex had a career as a medical doctor. He worked in some of the world's most challenging

A recent novelist I'm former financial journalist and writer of non-fiction books, with experience in arts fundraising for theatres and in caring for someone brain-injured. I enjoy art, theatre, socialising; have raised two children, and various cats and dogs.

Georgette Skolnick's father lost everything during The Depression. So, she grew up in a poor dysfunctional family with both parents working to make ends meet. She was a latchkey child, left alone to fend for herself, and as a result, became a self-sufficient, empowered woman. She is the only one in

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

I am originally from Brooklyn, New York. I have lived in England for nearly two decades and have dual US/UK citizenship. I have a B.A. in Russian from Columbia University and was an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy. I also have a Master’s degree in Opera and worked as a singer, director and stage

CURRENT 2024 ACADEMY NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP NOMINEE: In the last 4 years, Austin's screenplays Car Heroin Train, Her Seventh Death, William the II, Taming Holden Caulfield, Diners & Devils, Who Let the Wallflowers Out? (2024 Nicholl Nominated), Maddie and Frannie, and Night With A Glorious Sun have

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.

English, ex-trader; lived in close to a dozen countries, picking up several foreign languages (and some useful nationalities) along the way. Reads a lot of history. Currently has a tv comedy in production. Based in Germany, Spain and France.

Alan travelled extensively in the international oil and gas industry as a marine geophysicist and it was during his time off that he first began writing novels for adults. Following the selection of his third novel, Woollyback, for a tutored adaptation for the silver screen, Alan went on to complete

Alan travelled extensively in the international oil and gas industry as a marine geophysicist and it was during his time off that he first began writing novels for adults. Following the selection of his third novel, Woollyback, for a tutored adaptation for the silver screen, Alan went on to complete

Alan travelled extensively in the international oil and gas industry as a marine geophysicist and it was during his time off that he first began writing novels for adults. Following the selection of his third novel, Woollyback, for a tutored adaptation for the silver screen, Alan went on to complete

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