The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award
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Whether a script is a fast paced thriller or a realist drama, Humanitas seeks work that explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way. The Humanitas mission also lends itself to championing stories and writers who, for varying reasons, may go overlooked by the traditional marketplace.
The student-writer selected as an awardee will receive a trophy at the annual Humanitas Prizes event in September 2023, a one year WriterDuet license, a professional notes session, and a $20,000 cash prize.
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.
OUR PROCESS
The Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards usually receive around 200 applications from college students across the United States. 20 semi-finalists, four finalists, and one awardee are named for each award.
To select College Screenwriting Awards semi-finalists, Humanitas oversees a two-round competition powered by Coverfly. Humanitas staff and curated reading committees are then assembled and oversee the semi-finalist and finalist rounds to determine the two awardees.
For their part, Coverfly curates a group of readers to support the Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards and New Voices Fellowship annually. Each script is read anonymously at least once.
For 2023, Coverfly has gathered 58 readers from across the United States. These readers have a diverse set of experiences and backgrounds. 50% do not identify as white, 53% identify as either female or non-binary, 3% are over the age of 50, 17% of readers identify as LGBTQ+, and 3% of readers identify as disabled.
Readers have or are currently working as development execs, consultants, critics, story editors, authors, and in other positions at companies like Warner Bros., FOX, Lionsgate, HBO, Paradigm Talent Agency, Netflix, Magnolia Entertainment, StudioCanal, Paramount, and Starz, as well as competitions from the Austin Film Festival, Slamdance, The Tracking Board, Screencraft, and Launchpad.
Coverfly compensates readers at an average rate of $19-21/hour based on experience with bonuses available for quality and efficiency.
To learn more about what we look for in a script, you may wish to read this article on our blog about the art of screenwriting and exploring the human condition.
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 panel of writers in the Humanitas community.
WriterDuet
Awardees will receive a free 1-year WriterDuet Pro license, giving them full access to unlimited real-time collaboration, professional screenwriting tools, and a dedicated desktop app.
College Screenwriting Awards recipients will be awarded one year of Student Memberships with NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA), providing them complimentary all-access passes to all NFMLA Festivals and Panels, and a 15% discount on submissions to the NFMLA Monthly Film Festivals. NewFilmmakers Los Angeles champions emerging and diverse filmmakers and storytellers from around the world and provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized for their contributions, have open audience discussions about their work, and connect with industry professionals for insight on distribution, production, and representation. In an effort to showcase, support, educate, and build relationships for next-gen filmmakers, NFMLA has rapidly expanded beyond the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival to host an array of workshops, panels, competitions, and networking programs, including the InFocus initiative which combats the lack of diversity in media by celebrating underrepresented voices.
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.
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.
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.
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 re-imaginings of true events or fictional stories are acceptable; by submitting you acknowledge you have secured all rights needed to adapt any material.
Students may be contacted for Zoom interviews as part of the selection process if they advance to the finalist round.
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.
Current Humanitas staff and interns are ineligible for the College Screenwriting Awards.
A limited number of fee waivers are available for applicants on a first come, first serve basis. If cost is a barrier for entry, please contact Humanitas.
Should a writing team be selected, cash prizes will be split evenly amongst the writers.
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.
