Academy's 2011 Nicholl Screenwriting Competition Now Underway

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now accepting entries for the 2011 Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. As many as five $30,000 fellowships will be awarded through the program in November. The Nicholl Fellowships competition is open to any individual who has not earned more than $5,000 from the sale or option of a screenplay or teleplay, or received a fellowship or prize of more than $5,000 that includes a "first look" clause, an option or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work. To enter, writers must submit a completed application online, upload one PDF copy of their original screenplay in English and pay the entry fee before 11:59 p.m. PT on May 2, 2011. The regular entry fee is US$45; an early-bird entry fee of US$30 is available for those who enter prior to 11:59 p.m. PT on April 1, 2011.

Online applications, rules and other details are available at www.oscars.org/nicholl.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a new feature-length screenplay during the fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

Last year's competition drew 6,304 entries. Since the program's inception in 1985, 118 fellowships have been awarded.