Fellowships &
Scholarships
Our vision is to support as many participants through fellowships and partial scholarships as possible.
Applications are now closed.
All fellowships cover the fee to attend a Narrative Lab and include as well:
a 30-minute consultation with entertainment attorney Stacey Davis (a Stowe Story Labs alum, fellowship sponsor, and board member)
StoryBoard Quick software from Power Production
a free copy of the newest version of Final Draft
Certain fellowships include greater value, so please refer below to to learn the details of each award. We also offer dozens of partial scholarships to deserving candidates facing financial hardship.
There is no separate fellowship/scholarship application. On our application, we ask you to say whether you are interested in a fellowship or other support. On the application to the labs you may suggest a fellowship you think you are particularly well suited for, but it is not required.
The criteria for each fellowship differs, so please review carefully.
The Stowe story labs/SAGindie Fellowship
Awarded to two top emerging filmmakers of color
SAGindie is proud to sponsor this Fellowship for two top emerging filmmakers of color. One fellow will attend the Stowe Narrative Lab and the other will attend the Stowe Writers’ Retreat. Each will receive a $250 travel stipend. As a free resource, SAGindie offers filmmakers clarity and kinship by guiding them through the SAG-AFTRA signatory process, making it even easier to hire professional actors, regardless of budget. SAGindie is made possible by a grant from the Screen Actors Guild-Producers Industry Advancement & Cooperative Fund.
The Stowe Story Labs/Maven Fellowship
Awarded to a female screenwriter working on a project for television
The Stowe Story Labs/Maven Fellowship will cover the fee to attend the Stowe Narrative Lab and the project will be considered for development by Maven. Maven Screen Media is a development and production company with a focus on TV and digital content. The company, whose credits include Skin, the remake of The Kindergarten Teacher, and American Honey, works with female content creators and on female-centered stories.
The Stowe Story Labs Diverse Voices Fellowship
Awarded to a talented, underrepresented voice
The Stowe Story Labs Diverse Voices Fellowship will be awarded to a top applicant from a typically underrepresented community. The fellowship will cover the fee to attend the Stowe Narrative Lab, two script note sessions with a mutually agreed mentor, and the fee to attend the Stowe Writers’ Retreat plus a $500 travel stipend. We want to read diverse perspectives from writers of color, female writers, writers with disabilities, writers over 40, writers in the LGBTQ+ community, and any other voices historically ignored by Hollywood. This fellowship is made possible by a gift from Victoria M. Trumbower.
The Stowe Story Labs/NYX Horror Collective Fellowship
Awarded to a woman-identifying horror writer, age 40 and over
The 2023 Stowe Story Labs NYX Horror Collective Fellowship will be awarded to a top woman-identifying horror writer, age 40 or over, bringing a horror feature or TV pilot to the program. The Fellowship will cover tuition for the 2023 Stowe Narrative Lab along with all other fellowship benefits. NYX Horror Collective is a community of diverse women creators—inclusive of BIWOC, LGBTQ+, disabled women, and nonbinary folx—who develop, celebrate, and elevate original, women-led horror content for film, TV, and new media. Members are drawn from across the industry and are transforming the genre through stories that explore race, gender, sexuality, mental and chronic illness, body image and more. Joined by award-winning core members Mo Moshaty and Lisa Kroger, Melody Cooper and Kelly Krause are co-founders.
The Stowe Story Labs/Skyfire Fellowship
Awarded to a top emerging genre writer, bringing a feature or TV pilot
This Stowe Story Labs/SKYFIRE Fellowship is for a top emerging genre writer, bringing a feature or TV pilot. This can be an original work or adaptation of a manga/comic/novel. In addition to the usual fellowship benefits, the Fellow will receive a $500 travel stipend and $750 for lodging. Writers with a cross-media background are highly encouraged to apply. Studio SKYFIRE LLC is a Hawai’i-based entertainment company that specializes in elevated genre, iconic character-driven sagas, and high-octane fairy tales across print, electronic media, film & TV.
The stowe story labs/Final Draft Fellowship
Awarded to top emerging screenwriter or filmmaker
The Final Draft Fellowship is open to all and offered to a top emerging screenwriter or filmmaker presenting a meaningful, fresh story containing notes of uplift and hope. The applicant must demonstrate an ability to collaborate to see the script developed into a motion picture or TV show.
The stowe story labs/Law Firm of Stacey A. Davis Fellowship
Awarded to a woman over 40 to attend the Stowe Sidewalk Narrative Lab
The Law Firm of Stacey A. Davis is sponsoring a fellowship for women over 40 to attend the Stowe Story Labs Sidewalk Narrative Lab. The fellowship covers tuition to attend the Lab with all additional benefits. This fellowship will be awarded to a woman-identifying emerging screenwriter, filmmaker, and/or creative producer who is over the age of 40 with a compelling story to tell. The fellowship seeks to empower women and their stories.
Fellowship partner Stacey Davis—Stowe alum and board member—said, “we are grateful to have the opportunity to return with The Law Firm of Stacey A. Davis fellowship for women screenwriters over 40. This underrepresented group has powerful stories to tell, and Stowe’s Sidewalk Narrative Lab is an important part of getting our stories in front of audiences to educate and inspire people of all ages.” Read more about the Sidewalk Narrative Lab here.
THE STOWE STORY LABS/Bellem Entertainment FELLOWSHIP
AWARDED TO TALENTED FILMMAKERS with a strong, unique story
The Stowe Story Labs / Bellem Entertainment fellowship will cover the fee to attend a Stowe Writers Retreat plus a $500 travel/lodging stipend. This fellowship is open to all screenwriters with a strong, unique story to tell. It is Bellem's mission to support creative story-tellers of any age, any race, any gender on their journey to achieve their goals.
The Stowe Story Labs/Film Fatales Fellowship
Awarded to talented filmmakers of all marginalized genders.
The Stowe Story Labs Film Fatales Fellowship will be awarded to a talented filmmaker of any marginalized gender who presents a compelling, fresh story with intriguing, traditionally underrepresented characters. Qualified applicants include cis women, trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and those who are otherwise marginalized. This fellowship covers tuition for a narrative lab in 2023, along with all other fellowship benefits. Learn more about Film Fatales here.
PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Fellowship
Awarded to One PAGE Quarterfinalist
The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards fellowship will be awarded annually to an outstanding PAGE Quarterfinalist who applies to the Labs. Widely recognized as one of the most important resources for emerging screenwriters, the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards was founded in 2003 by an alliance of Hollywood producers, agents, and development executives to discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from around the world.
The Stowe Story Labs/Sidewalk Film Festival Fellowship
Awarded to a top emerging screenwriter or filmmaker who presents a meaningful character-driven story focused on underrepresented voices
The Stowe Story Labs Sidewalk Film Festival Fellowship will cover tuition to the August Sidewalk Lab, along with all other fellowship benefits. Sidewalk is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which hosts the nationally recognized Sidewalk Film Festival, the SHOUT LGBTQ Film Festival, and other critical year-round programming in the Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema. Stowe and Sidewalk partner both on the August Narrative Lab and the Vermont Film and Music Festival, which ran its first program in 2022.
The Tangerine Entertainment fellowship
Awarded annually to an outstanding female screenwriter, filmmaker, or creative producer
The Tangerine Entertainment fellowship is open to women screenwriters, filmmakers, and creative producers. Tangerine is a production company founded to support women in film, and partners with Stowe Story Labs on the fellowship.
The University of Vermont Fellowship
awarded to a University of Vermont Film and Television Program student
The University of Vermont fellowship is open to a University of Vermont Film and Television Program student presenting a compelling story idea and demonstrating talent, skill, and a deep desire to master the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking. The fellowship covers fees to attend the 4-day Stowe Story Narrative Lab, as well as lodging and meals during their time in Stowe.