About
The Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards recognize writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way and are currently enrolled in a college or university program.
Humanitas awards two prizes annually which recognize screenwriting by students: The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award.
The two writers receive a $20,000 cash prize, additional benefits, and a trophy at the annual Humanitas Prizes event. 20 semifinalists, four finalists, and one awardee are named for each award.
Humanitas recognizes that students are often in a precarious position as they transition into the labor market, and a cash prize of this magnitude grants students flexibility post-graduation by mitigating moving expenses, defraying the cost of tuition, or funding creative projects that would otherwise not be financially feasible.
Prices & Deadlines
Mar 31st
Regular
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Apr 15th
Final
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|---|---|---|
College Comedy Award
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$32.50
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$35.00
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Benefits
Cash Prize: Each awardee receives a $20,000 cash prize.
Professional Notes Session: Each awardee will receive feedback on the winning script from a writer in the Humanitas community. Previous writers have included Alena Smith, Kira Snyder, Sheridan Watson, and Chrysanthy Balis.
NFMLA: College Screenwriting Awards recipients will be awarded one year of Student Memberships with NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA).
The Black List: The Black List is proud to offer awardees one free month of hosting and two free evaluations of their projects on blcklst.com.
Michael Wiese Productions (MWP): MWP is gifting each 2024 College Screenwriting Award winner a title of their choosing from the MWP catalog. An internationally acclaimed publishing company serving emerging, as well as established, filmmakers, MWP has published over 200 books, over 65 titles have been translated into 25 languages, are used in over 700 film courses, and in the Hollywood studios and by emerging filmmakers. MWP also hosts a series of classes, interviews, and essays on their sister site The Future of Story.
Final Draft: Final Draft will provide to fellows activation codes forFinal Draft 13. Final Draft, a Cast & Crew Company, has published Final Draft® software – the number-one selling screenwriting application in the world – for over 30 years. Final Draft is the only screenwriting software that allows writers to fully customize their writing environment, streamlines their process, maximizes productivity, and automatically paginates and formats scripts to industry standards. With Final Draft, writers can focus on what they do best - writing. Used by such industry giants as J.J. Abrams, Bong Joon Ho, Sofia Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Issa Rae and Aaron Sorkin, Final Draft software is the professional’s choice and the entertainment industry standard. In addition to its flagship software product, Final Draft offers the annual Big Break® Contest – a screenwriting competition that launches careers, and awards over $80,000 in cash and prizes. Final Draft also offers Final Draft Go for iPhone and iPad, making creativity truly portable. To learn more about Final Draft and its products and services, visit: www.finaldraft.com.
Humanitas Community Events: Awardees will receive invitations to Humanitas community events throughout the year.
Humanitas is grateful to the companies and organizations who have agreed to partner with us to support emerging writers! Check back for updates as we sometimes add partners throughout the year.
Components and benefits are subject to change. If you’re a company or organization that would like to be considered for program partnership, please email info@humanitasprize.org with “Program Partnership” in the subject line.
2024 Finalists on Coverfly
Announcements
Rules
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
All applicants must familiarize themselves with these rules and with our FAQ.
All submissions are final. No revised or late material will be accepted.
REQUIRED SUBMISSION MATERIALS:
A pilot script (30- or 60-minute pilot) or feature-length screenplay no longer than 120 pages
Logline
Brief synopsis (approximately 250-300 words)
A short artist statement (1 page, double-spaced) that speaks to the applicant's professional aspirations and why they felt compelled to write the submitted project.
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Scripts must be an original work. Adaptations or re-imaginings of true events or fictional stories are acceptable; by submitting you acknowledge you have secured all rights needed to adapt any material.
During the selection process, applicants may be contacted for additional documentation to confirm their student status. Receiving or not receiving a request for this documentation is not indication of the status of your application.
Assessment to determine finalists weighs the quality of the applicant’s script, the script’s relevance to Humanitas mission, and the quality of the applicant’s supplementary materials.
All finalists are interviewed on Zoom. These meetings cover the submitted project, short term practical needs, long term career aspirations, and play an essential role in determining who is selected to receive the annual College Screenwriting Awards.
Should a writing team be selected, cash prizes will be split evenly amongst the writers.
Humanitas has a limited number of submission fee waivers it can offer annually. Please use this form to request a fee waiver if cost presents a barrier to entry.
While the Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards accept materials from all writers, writers with diverse backgrounds and social identities historically underrepresented in media are highly encouraged to apply.
Students must be enrolled in a college or university program located within the United States at the time of their submission. Students enrolled in some non-degree certificate conferring screenwriting programs organized by an accredited college or university (e.g.: UCLA TFT Professional Program) are also eligible. If you have questions about if a particular program is eligible, please contact Humanitas at info@humanitasprize.org.
Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for the awards.
While the majority of our submissions come from students studying screenwriting and/or film, students of any discipline or major are welcome to apply.
Current Humanitas staff and interns are not eligible for the College Screenwriting Awards.