The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the recipients of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for 2026-2026, naming three solo writers and two writing teams. These fellowships are part of a long-running Academy initiative to identify and nurture new screenwriting talent, and this cycle marked a structural change: all selected projects entered through a refreshed global outreach effort that partnered with 40 universities, screenwriting labs, film festivals and filmmaker programs.
The updated submission path included public intake via The Black List and formal nomination channels such as the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and top film schools. Academy leadership highlighted the international scope and diversity of the cohort and thanked collaborators, including Franklin Leonard and partner organizations, for helping extend the program’s reach. The fellows will receive mentorship, access to industry events and support intended to help them finish a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.
Who the 2026-2026 fellows are
The five fellowship winners represent a range of settings and themes. Leo Aguirre (San Antonio, TX) won for Verano, submitted through the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab; his story follows a withdrawn teen in Texas whose household fosters an asylum seeker from Central America, turning initial resentment into friendship as deportation looms. Writing duo Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany (Los Angeles, CA) were recognized for The Washroom via Urbanworld Festival, a small-town Texas drama about a young imam defending burial rights while concealing a forbidden love. Together these scripts point to the fellowship’s interest in intimate, socially resonant narratives.
Also awarded were Brooklyn team Sara Crow and David Rafailedes for Satoshi (partner: NYU Tisch School of the Arts), a project that imagines a teen anime-obsessed hacktivist responding to her family’s financial ruin by attempting to reinvent money with a new digital currency; Lynn McKee (Queens, NY) for I’m Ready to Go Anywhere (partner: The Black List), a 1980s Phoenix-set tale of a ten-year-old who must parent her mother and sister while plotting escape from danger; and Katla Sólnes (New York, NY) for Eruption (partner: Columbia University School of the Arts), which explores a marriage strained in 1970s Iceland when an American student arrives and alters the household’s fragile balance.
Finalists and selection mechanics
Alongside the five fellows, the Academy named five finalists: Natalie Cutler (Offside), Adrian Morphy (The 300 Year Old Man), Benjamin Murphey (Unconfirmed Bachelor), Michael Oosterom (Giants) and Shelley Patel (With Her Hands Untied). These finalists were chosen after a robust review process that involved more than 500 Academy members from all 19 branches electing to read and evaluate submissions — a participation increase of 149 percent over prior cycles. From the ten scripts advanced to finalist status, a group of 23 Academy members on the Nicholl Committee selected the five fellowship recipients.
Governance and leadership
The Nicholl Fellows program operates under the oversight of the Academy Foundation Board of Trustees. The 2026-2026 Nicholl Committee was co-chaired by Kim Taylor-Coleman (Academy Foundation Board President and Academy Governor) alongside Producers Branch member Julie Lynn. Academy leadership emphasized the program’s mission to champion new voices worldwide and acknowledged partner organizations that helped cast a wider net for applicants.
Benefits, obligations and archival practice
Winners receive career development resources including pitch workshops, media training, meet-and-greets and events that pair fellows with past Oscar nominees and winners. Fellows also join the Academy’s Gold Alumni Network Program for sustained access to professional development. The fellowship award presumes recipients will complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship period. Importantly, the Academy acquires no rights to the fellows’ scripts and does not commercialize the completed works; instead, each script is preserved in the Academy Collection and made accessible through the Margaret Herrick Library.
Program history and funding
The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting were endowed by Gladys “Gee” Nicholl in honor of her husband, writer-producer Don Nicholl. Since its founding in 1986, the program has awarded 191 fellowships, positioning it as a consistent gateway for new screenwriters. More details about the program and its official partners can be found on the Academy website for those seeking submission guidelines or partnership information.