As it’s contest season, I thought it would be interesting to see what the loglines have been of recent Nicholl winners. (For the uninitiated, The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is perhaps the most prestigious competition for emerging writers in the medium. Founded in 1986, the Nicholl attracts thousands of entries per year and, of those selections, up to five $35,000 fellowships are awarded to new screenwriters each year.)
The 2023 Nicholl Winners will be feted with a table read on April 25 (tickets are available here); as for the 2024 deadline, the late deadline is May 1st (more details are here; please note that submission numbers are capped at 5,500 this year).
I thought it would be an interesting experiment to collect and present the loglines of winners past, and I found them for the years 2021 – 2023. Because I’m finding this work fascinating (I mean, check out my posts here and here whydontcha), I’m noticing that some of the ones below don’t follow the tried and true formulae of How You’re Supposed to Write Loglines; in fact, there’s quite a bit of variation going on.
But that’s what I love about this work. For every screenwriting rule/guidelines, there’s always an exception. Without further ado, here we go.
Loglines of 2023 Winning Scripts:
A total of 5,599 scripts, from 83 countries, were submitted for the 2023 competition. All authors are listed alphabetically. More information can be found here.
- Brownie Mary by Brent Delaney: At the height of the AIDS crisis, Mary Jane Rathbun illegally distributes cannabis-infused brownies to heal thousands of gay men in San Francisco and inadvertently becomes the face of the first medical marijuana movement in U.S. history.
- Nat Cady’s Boys by Harris McCabe: Two young boys seek bloody vengeance on the posse that hung their outlaw father in 1882 Wyoming.
- Slugger by J. Miller: Abandoned by her mother and coached by her unloving father, a high school baseball prodigy with a hot temper and thunderous bat must confront old-school coaches, jealous teammates, injuries, and her own sexual identity on an inspirational quest to be the first woman to play in the Majors.
- Tah by c. Craig Patterson: The black sheep of the family comes back home to live with the most difficult matriarch in New Orleans.
- Boy, Girl, Fig by Kayla Sun: Aden was born with a rare condition where he becomes invisible to people who love him. He struggles when he falls in love with his childhood best friend.
Loglines of 2022 Winning Scripts:
A total of 5,526 scripts, from 85 countries, were submitted for this year’s competition. You can find more information here.
- Into the Deep Blue by Jennifer Archer: Nick Bennet is rebuilding his life after the death of his mom, a DUI, and mandatory grief counseling. Together with Fiona, his fiery best friend from therapy, they navigate the waters of grief and their growing feelings.
- Tape 22 by Callie Bloem and Christopher Ewing: A music journalist reeling from the death of his wife discovers a mixtape that brings her back to life for four minutes and 23 seconds a day, exactly the length of her favorite song. Now he’s determined to bring her back for good even if he might accidentally open a black hole in the middle of L.A.
- Ojek by Sam Boyer: In Jakarta, a loyal motorcycle taxi driver struggles to build a better life through a deadly new business that tests his transporting talents – and inner humanity. Think “Drive” in Indonesia.
- Operation Gemini by J.M. Levine: After being separated from her newborn twins during the invasion of Kyiv, a mother recruits two civilians to drive her back into war-torn Ukraine to rescue her children before medical supplies run out and the Russian army takes over. Inspired by a true story.
- Tyrone and the Looking Glass by Timothy Ware-Hill: In Birmingham, AL, 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a Negro boy goes on a quest to find the four magical treasures he needs to wield the Looking Glass – the only weapon powerful enough to defeat a three-headed dragon that seeks to destroy him and his loved ones.
Loglines of 2021 Winning Scripts:
A record number of 8,191 scripts, from 89 countries, were submitted for this year’s competition. (Holy crap! The pandemic really caused the writers to come out in full force!). You can find more information here.
- Pumping Black by Haley Hope Bartels: After a desperate cyclist takes up a team doctor’s dangerous offer, he seems on course to win the Tour de France. But as the race progresses and jealous teammates, suspicious authorities, and his own paranoia close in, he must take increasingly dark measures to protect both his secrets and his lead.
- Coming of Age by Karin delaPeña Collison: In 1965 Britain, Charlotte, a sheltered, studious schoolgirl, lands on a British Farce tour her mother stage manages, where private tutoring by company members replaces her formal schooling, with surprising success, and she experiences a Lolita-like flirtation in the morally wobbly era of Free Love, which leads both her and her mother to ‘come of age.’
- Shade of the Grapefruit Tree by Byron Hamel: When a severely abused white boy befriends his sci-fi obsessed Black landlady, his fantasy of becoming a robot empowers him to recklessly confront his murderous stepdad.
- Shelter Animal by R. J. Daniel Hanna: A fiery, female prison trustee working at the county animal shelter finds purpose rehabilitating an abused pit bull, but her attempts to rally employees and the broader community for shelter reform puts her own freedom at risk.
- The Ideal Woman by Laura Kosann: Set in American suburbia during the Cuban Missile Crisis: A 1960’s ex-actress and housewife finds her house-of-cards world begin to tumble as she continues to be pitted against two identities.
Loglines of 2020 Winning Scripts:
The Academy Nicholl Fellowships received a record number of entries: 7,831. You can find more information here.
- Sadboi by James Acker: Thrown out of the house, an emotionally-stunted high schooler must revisit old friends and repair burnt bridges all in the name of finding a place to sleep.
- Lemon by Beth Curry: When Lemon’s agoraphobic mother dies suddenly, five-year-old Lemon goes outside for the first time in search of her father. Beasts of a Southern Wild meets Room.
- Goodbye, Iraq by Vanar Jaddou: After a failed assassination attempt on President Saddam Hussein, a paranoid ex-soldier and his fiery daughter must brave a nightmarish trek from Iraq to the U.S. while they’re hunted by Saddam’s ruthless regime. Inspired by true events.
- The Cow of Queens by Kate Marks: When Sonya and her dying father encounter an escaped slaughterhouse cow running for its life on the streets of Queens, they embark on an adventure to save it. Making the most of their last moments together, they find a way to defy death and make peace with the inevitable prognosis.
- Sins of My Father by Jane Therese: A young woman in Ireland grapples with the love she has for her father after bringing charges of abuse against him which shatters a country.
For years prior to 2020, I’m not seeing loglines on the Academy’s site.
If anyone has any leads, let me know!