Screenwriting Blog
Posted on by Courtney Meznarich

Announcing the Top 25 Screenwriters in the Running for SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus!

Drumroll, please ... we're ready to announce the 25 creators who are advancing to the final round of SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus! More than 1,000 writers applied to win the prize, including $4,000 paid over 30 days to help one deserving creative pay their bills while writing a feature-length script. All it took to enter was your name, email address, and one sentence explaining why you deserve the stimulus. We pulled 100 entrants randomly, then narrowed down our top 25 favorite responses. One of these 25 writers will emerge from this very challenging year with more cash in their pocket and a finished screenplay in their hands!

Please join us in congratulating our Top 25:

I should win so I can bring my 15 years of comedy work that blends Chaplin, Bugs Bunny and Jackie Chan into a female driven screenplay that embraces women of all ages, colors, and sexual orientations while blending of the worlds of Rodeo Queens and Harry Potter.

—Wendy Seyb

I would love to win SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus for the opportunity to share my process as a writer who examines the complexities and ironies of identity through the spiritual act of storytelling (with jokes!) while creating space for my writing as a stay-at-home mom who is stuck at home (high-risk) with two young kids under 3 and a very busy creative husband (also high-risk!) during a global pandemic.

—Rhiannon Ciara Vaughn

She has stories, fire and desire.

—Oluwadamilare Oyefeso

I had to take a pay cut because of the pandemic so I’ve been too stressed to write. This money could help me pay bills and clear my head so I can focus on writing.

—Mika White

I believe, that above all, Black people deserve joy; which is the reason that I write comedy and am currently finishing The Jackson Family BBQ.

—Nicholas Bouier

Writing has always been a source of joy and excitement for me, and right now I am in desperate need of some space to get that joy back.

—Matthew Pinkney

Because this isn't just a job for me, I truly love creating complex characters and worlds.

—Khadijah Iman Holgate

I should win SoCreate's Screenwriter Stimulus because after being diagnosed with COVID, being furloughed until 2021, and the virus triggering a preexisting condition, I want to do something really special for my fiance this Christmas.

—Tobi Sigona

I live on a mountaintop in the middle of nowhere with a wife and two kids - YOU try getting time in to both work and write!

—Kevin Perkins

I'm the head of a small creative writing podcast network and will immediately use any stimulus money to fund passion projects by myself and other startup writers, voice actors and audio editors.

—Josh Denty

I’m a young, Black writer who merges absurdism and realism to tell impactful, long-lasting stories, and voices like mine need to be heard right now.

—Kemari Bryant

I'm a Latino filmmaker that won three awards for my short films in the Audfest film festival. I've always had a passion to make movies having little to no money. I pushed myself to get through film school with high honors.

—Joseph Quiles

I left seminary in April 2019 with $200 and a one way ticket home, and I moved to Hollywood to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional writer!

—Jeff Grdina

I deserve this wonderful opportunity because my screenplay will empower people and help them feel human again in these stressful, unsure times.

—Hisani P. DuBose

My stories center the experiences of queer black women and those stories deserve to take the front seat in 2020 and beyond.

—Janaya Greene

I’m on a mission to master the craft of screenwriting and this stimulus would enable me to take several more courses on the craft.

—Amie Darboe

I broke my back and caught COVID, but I’m still here and need to pay bills.

—Jason Elia

I've been writing short-form video content scripts for BuzzFeed since 2019 and would like to take a break to write about something that truly inspires me.

—Amanda Alvich

One sentence, one shot, one chance, one person, one year unlike any other, one impression, one wonders what you're looking for but maybe it's me.

—Dan Goodsell

I am a hard-working immigrant to the US striving to advocate for racial & gender equality through heartfelt & imaginative storytelling!

—Ginger Chen

$4,000 should just about pay for three vintage Corona typewriters, import a few boxes of Cuban cigars, and develop a drinking habit worthy of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Hammett, in the hopes of proving the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe wrong when he visits me nightly in the guise of a raven and squawks, “Nevermore will you finish your thirteenth screenplay!”

—David White

It is necessary to not only privilege but also amplify transgender voices and allow us to claim our rightful seat at the table.

—Ilana Garcia-Mittleman

Because I've learned more from losing the last competition than I ever would have winning, but I'm back with refined grit, focus, and purpose to pen a black centered romantic comedy in the same universal vein as "Sleepless" in Seattle", "When Harry Met Sally", "Always Be My Maybe", and "The Half Of It". #GameOn

—Kaylord Hill

I should win so that the world can finally know how hilariously sad it is, to be in love with another man while being an Indian male student desperate for a green card.

—Harsha Gullapalli

An unusual upbringing mixed with my life long love of film has given me a unique perspective.

—Kumyl Saied

Congratulations to the Top 25. We had an amazing list of screenwriters to choose from, so if your name and sentence weren't chosen, just know that you were among that list of amazing people! You are all so inspiring, and you reminded me why we're doing what we're doing over here at SoCreate - to increase the diversity of stories being told, to make people feel less alone through storytelling, and to give you the tools to let your creativity run wild - to make screenwriting for everyone.

Over the next few weeks, you'll hear from our Top 25 in their own words and learn more about them. We'll announce a winner on November 20, and they'll begin writing their 30-day, feature-length script on December 1! We can't wait to follow along.

Until then, happy writing!

Courtney Meznarich, Director of Community Outreach
Courtney Meznarich Director of Community Outreach
@courtonthecoast

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