Writers Guild Initiative Names 2015 Collyer Fellowship in Screenwriting Recipient

Megan Rico of the University of Miami has been selected to receive the Writers Guild Initiative's (WGI) 2015 Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting. The fellowship, which is funded by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation, is awarded to a student who plans to pursue a career in screenwriting upon completion of his/her undergraduate course of study. Rico will receive a $10,000 stipend to write an original screenplay, which she will do under the mentorship of David Auburn (Proof, The Lake House). She will be presented with her fellowship at the 67th annual Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 14, 2015 in New York City at the Edison Ballroom.

Rico's fellowship project, entitled NED, focuses on Sam and her friend Alex who think it is going to be another boring summer, cleaning jerky neighbors' swimming pools, until they find a severed arm floating in one of the pools. Suddenly, they are caught in a government conspiracy involving an escaped extraterrestrial, casual grave-robbing, and a crazy old dad with a podcast.

"I didn't think I wrote the kinds of things that win fellowships, and I want to thank Tom Musca for insisting and the Writers Guild Initiative for agreeing with him. This comes as a complete surprise and I'm honored to have been given such an incredible opportunity," said Rico, who also thanked her mom.

"What constantly amazes us with the Collyer Fellow scripts is the variety and invention of the material we receive. Whatever the source of inspiration that feeds these young screenwriters, it is clearly in no danger of running dry. It's a great pleasure for us to play some small role in moving young writers, like this year's recipient Megan Rico, forward in their careers," said Michael Weller, president of the WGI.

Rico follows the six previous Collyer Fellows who have pursued and found screenwriting careers. The first Collyer Fellow, 2009 recipient Sara Van Acker of New York University who completed her script under the mentorship of Marshall Brickman, was named a 2011 semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting and was most recently co-producer of the independent short Sunday's Mother. Fellowship recipient James DiLapo (2011) also of New York University, was named a 2012 winner of the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. His script Devils At Play, which he worked on with his Collyer mentor Richard LaGravenese, was listed on the 2012 Black List. DiLapo is currently writing the futuristic The Odyssey for Warner Brothers. Other Collyer Fellows include: 2010 recipient Antal Zambo of Wayne State University, who was mentored by Marshall Brickman; 2012 recipient Hailey O'Brien who recently completed her script with her mentor Susanna Styron; 2013 recipient Heather Dunoon, who just completed her script with mentor Eric Bogosian, and 2014 recipient Henneh Sekandary who is working on her script with mentor David Henry Hwang.

This year, the program expanded to include nine universities and colleges participating in the Fellowship nominating process. They are: new participants DePaul University and Watkins College of Art, Design and Film, and returning schools New York University, Binghamton University, University of Texas at Austin, Columbia College Chicago, Clemson University, Georgia State University, and the University of Miami.

Diana King, chairwoman and president of the King Family Foundation, said, "We are deeply gratified to have developed the Michael Collyer Fellowship in collaboration with the Writers Guild Initiative and are thankful for their excellent stewardship. As we mark the 7th anniversary of this unique and valuable program, we are gratified to see so many of our Collyer Fellows establishing careers in screenwriting and related fields. This program was developed in memory of our former board member, Michael Collyer, a leading entertainment attorney and a champion of talented writers in all media. Michael would be thrilled to see the development support provided by this program reaching an ever-growing number of Collyer Fellows, and to see their screenplays drawing interest from wide segments of the motion picture industry."

The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation was established in 1988 to support educational excellence and professional development in the film, television and related media fields, and has provided scholarships to hundreds of outstanding U.S. undergraduate students in these disciplines. For more information on the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship, contact WGI Director of Operations and Communications Jenna Jackson, 212-767-7843, jjackson@wgaeast.org.

The Writers Guild Initiative, the new name of the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation, seeks to engage some of the nation's most prominent writers in working with people from all walks of life to perpetuate the ART AND CRAFT of storytelling, through education and practical experience on local and national levels. The WGI seeks to identify the next generation of storytellers and to have an impact by giving them the skills to express who they are and how they experience their world. It also encourages WGAE members and staff to contribute their expertise to the Initiative's activities, thereby expanding the base and breadth of knowledge, as well as increasing the solidarity and power of the writing community in the larger world; and to work with other like-minded organizations in order to facilitate and expand the needs and goals of writers everywhere. For information about the Writers Guild Initiative's programs, go to www.wginitiative.org.