Stowe Story Labs Announces New Fellowships + Extends Deadline

Stowe Story Labs, a nonprofit that helps top emerging screenwriters, filmmakers and creative producers gain the skill and knowledge to get their film and TV projects made and seen, has added three new fellowships to its slate and a new partnership with Australia's Screen Queensland, bringing the total number of fellowships to 14.

In light of the new opportunities, the organization, which provides labs, writers' retreats, ongoing mentoring and development support to promising storytellers, has extended its application deadline to February 28. Now in its ninth year, Stowe is dedicated to inclusion and discovery of underrepresented voices.

Stowe fellowships support an array of talent, and the new fellowships add to this outreach. The Northwest Screenwriters Guild (NWSG) Fellowship will support an emerging screenwriter from the American Northwest, the Sidewalk Fellowship will assist one media maker working on content about underrepresented characters, and the HollyShorts Fellowship will fund one filmmaker - all to attend the remote Sidewalk Narrative Lab (a four-day workshop session).

In addition to these three fellowships, Screen Queensland - a government-owned company that supports the film industry of the Australian state of Queensland - has agreed to sponsor three teams of two at both Stowe's remote Sidewalk Narrative Lab in August and at its remote Writers' Retreat in October. Stowe's established fellowships include the Maven Screen Media Fellowship for a top emerging female TV writer and the expanded 4th Annual SAGindie Fellowship, which allows an emerging filmmaker of color to attend both a Stowe Narrative Lab and the Stowe Writers' Retreat.

Since its founding in 2013, Stowe Story Labs has helped talented creatives hone their craft and helped many people make career transitions to the entertainment industries. To date, its network of alumni is 70% women and 30% people over 50, with people hailing from 36 states and 17 countries. Over the past two years, 26% of Stowe participants have been BIPOC. In 2020, roughly 50% of its participants received financial support due to need.

Alumni have gone on to write or direct shows such as NBCUniversal's Law and Order: SVU and Queen Sugar; to complete their own films; to secure development deals and representation; and to participate in top-tier incubator programs such as the Universal Writers Program and HBO Access Writing Fellowship. Participants have also gone on to place or win in prestigious contests such as the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, the Sundance Episodic Lab and the Academy Nicholl Fellowships, among others.

"After such a tumultuous time, we are excited to offer these new opportunities both to new participants and to our alums," said Stowe Founder and Director David Rocchio. "Realizing our mission to support undiscovered and underrepresented voices has never been more important, and we value tremendously the support of our wonderful partner organizations."

To learn more about Stowe Story Labs and its fellowship opportunities, visit www.stowestorylabs.org. To apply for the 2021 labs, retreats, fellowships and partial scholarships, visit Submittable (http://bit.ly/3jcUEzB) or Coverfly (http://bit.ly/3pH3FmX).

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