The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award
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About
The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award was established thanks to a generous endowment from television writer-producer Carol Mendelsohn, who is best known for her contributions to the crime drama franchise CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It is one of two Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards which recognize writers whose work advances the mission of Humanitas and who are currently enrolled in a college or university program. After a rigorous selection process, one recipient will receive the award and a $20,000 prize.
Benefits
Stipend: The awardee receives a $20,000 prize.
Professional Notes Session: The awardee will receive feedback on the winning script from a panel of writers in the Humanitas community.
Final Draft: The awardee will be provided with free copies of Final Draft 12. Final Draft, a Cast & Crew Company, publishes Final Draft® software – the number-one selling screenwriting application in the world. Final Draft automatically paginates and formats your script to industry standards. 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. Final Draft 12 gives you powerful outlining, story structure, collaboration, and editing tools in a user-friendly interface that makes writing your screenplay effortless. Final Draft also offers Final Draft Mobile for iPhone and iPad, making creativity truly portable.
Humanitas is grateful to the companies and organizations who have agreed to partner with us to support emerging writers! This list is not final. Check back for updates as we add partners throughout the year. Though it's rare, components and benefits are subject to change.
2024 Finalists on Coverfly
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Rules
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
REQUIRED SUBMISSION MATERIALS:
1) Original 30- or 60-minute pilot, or feature film screenplay
2) Logline
3) Brief synopsis (1 paragraph)
4) Completedrelease form.
ELIGIBILITY:
Students must be enrolled in a college or university program located within the United States at the time of their submission.
Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible.
Scripts should reflect theHumanitas mission.
While the majority of our submissions come from students studying film and screenwriting, students of any discipline or major are welcome to apply.
Scripts must be an original work. Adaptations or reimaginings of true events or fictional stories are acceptable; by submitting you acknowledge you have secured all rights needed to adapt any material.
Spec episodes of existing shows are not accepted.
Students may be contacted for Zoom interviews as part of the selection process if they advance to the semi-finalist round.
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.