The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is currently accepting entries for the 2010 Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. As per the Academy's press release, up to five $30,000 fellowships will be awarded through the program in November.
For the first time, the entire application process this year, including the submission of entry scripts, will be done online. No scripts will be accepted via mail or e-mail. Online applications, rules and other details are available at www.oscars.org/nicholl.
More from the release: "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 1, 2010. 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, 2010.
"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 a record 6,380 entries. Since the program’s inception in 1985, 113 fellowships have been awarded."