TV Writing Contest Results

Winner Detective Gizmo Zeke Nelson & Mark Nelson ZEKE In a previous life, Zeke played college football at San Diego State University, but following enough blows to the head, chose to move into the creative arena. He started in advertising as a copywriter before earning an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Zeke has since performed writing duties for branded content campaigns and video game projects, and has developed animated and live-action projects for various studios and production companies. He is a co-founder of Slapworks Animation. MARK Mark Nelson attended graduate school at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television for animation, where he wrote and directed the animated film, “The Jockstrap Raiders,” which won the Student Academy Award. He has since worked professionally in VFX on TV and feature films, recently on such franchises as Marvel and Star Wars. Although his day job is in visual effects, Mark…

2021 Winner Munch Erin Muroski Erin Muroski is a comedy writer and actor who prefers hurricanes to earthquakes (she’s from Orlando, but currently lives in LA). She writes about real, multifaceted women who try really hard to keep it together, but end up screwing it up in some way… just like her! As a performer, she’s appeared on sitcoms, in national commercials, at San Francisco Sketch Fest two years running and was one of the leads in an uber religious romantic comedy that made her Catholic mother very happy called In-Lawfully Yours (available on Amazon & iTunes). She has taught and performed improv for over a decade and has her own podcast about the Bachelor franchise (so she is officially an Angeleno now.) As a writer, won “Best Original Comedy Pilot” for her pilot Level Up at the UCLA Screenwriting Contest and won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award for “Best…

Winner X by Estevan Estevan is a queer/Latinx writer, actor, and director. After receiving his BFA in Film & Television Studies from The University of Arizona, Estevan began his career as a Manager of Television Development & Programming at dick clark productions, penning red carpet specials for live entertainment programs including The Golden Globes, E! Live from the Red Carpet at the Oscars, The Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, The Streamy Awards and more. Recently he worked as the Writers’ PA on season 2 of the Bad Boys franchise spinoff series LA’s Finest for Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Sony/Spectrum/Fox. In 2020, Estevan served as the Writers’ Assistant on Long Slow Exhale from from EP/Showrunner Pam Veasey for Hello Sunshine/Made Up Stories and Paramount TV/Spectrum/BET. A proud, gay, Mexican-American kid from Phoenix, AZ, Estevan grew up shaped by the quick wit of queer culture and the tough Spanglish love of…

Winner Redflags by Nathan Patton Nathan Patton didn’t grow up in a rural Arkansas town, population 85 — he grew up on the outskirts of that town. That seclusion led to a lot of time spent inside his imagination, writing and drawing his own comic books, or acting out unmade Indiana Jones sequels in the woods and creeks behind his house. While he’s still inexperienced at adulting, but he did eventually get a job, doing some work in the comics field, and working as a freelance journalist and political cartoonist before eventually deciding to get his MFA in Writing. He’s a former Michener Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where he still lives with his wife, son, and dog — all of whom are way cooler than him (for one thing, they never talk about themselves in the third person). His feature script, Waitress #2, won the 2018…

Winner Powerhouse by Justin Daries James Born and raised in central Florida, Justin spent his childhood running around barefoot with a video camera glued to his hand. With a lifelong dream of following in Steven Spielberg’s footsteps, Justin set out for the west coast at nineteen, where he spent the first few months bouncing between PA gigs and living out of his car.  Eventually, he worked his way up the production ladder, while squeezing in late night writing sessions in pursuit of his ultimate dream. In 2014, a family health crisis sent him and his high school sweetheart back to the east coast, where they were forced to put their careers on pause. What was meant to be a two-month hiatus turned into a three year ‘all is lost’ detour ripped straight from the pages of Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat.” Despite the growing financial and geographical hurdle, Justin continued…

Grand Prize Winner Default by Hannah Dillon Hannah began screenwriting while studying Dramatic Literature at NYU and interning for documentary film production companies in New York City (4th Row Films, The Documentary Group). Her favorite writing teacher told her, “Read the screenplays for the movies you’ve seen a thousand times, and see what you discover.” She immediately read the scripts for Goodfellas, When Harry Met Sally, and Shawshank Redemption, and discovered that compelling screenwriting is the most awesome thing, ever. When Hannah isn’t creating her own material, she’s siphoning great literature, film, TV, and comedy into her soul like her life depends on it (it does). Hannah has a passion for thrillers and dark comedies. In fact, comedy is her other love, second only to writing, and the two often fuel each other. She has studied Improv and Sketch Writing at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles, under Mark Rennie, Rachael Mason, Eric Scott,…

Grand Prize Winner 40 Elephants by Kay Tuxford & E.S. Dahl Kay’s an Arizonan who’s wandered west until she reached the ocean, peeling away her Northern Arizona University degree in Biology for a pen and paper. A graduate of Chapman University’s Screenwriting MFA program, Kay co-created a one-on-one writing coach program through Writersstore.com. Also, just to say she did, she once baked 30 pies in 30 days. Kay met Elizabeth Dahl in a writing group and they bonded over a mutual love of mimosas, pancakes, and history. Knowing screenwriting was her life’s ambition, Elizabeth naturally attended Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned a B.S. in International Affairs and African Politics. . . . Things started making more sense when she moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A good Southerner, Elizabeth has a deep love of history, which writing allows her to indulge. She supports her screenwriting habit as a writer for…

– Grand Prize Winner – Beechwood by Gregory Martin & Eric Beu Greg Martin graduated from Berklee College of Music in the summer of 2010, then promptly threw his clothes, instruments, and film scoring degree in a car and drove to Los Angeles. There, he was able to ingratiate himself with the community and start working as a composer for film, TV, and ads. Greg’s music has been heard on FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC Family, TBS, and many more. Eventually, Greg’s passion for film scoring started to reveal a much deeper passion for storytelling, and with his writing partner Eric, they began the process of teaching themselves the art of screenwriting. A process that — hundreds of pages later — appears to have no end in sight. Eric Beu studied at the Université Paris Diderot and the University of Washington, from which he graduated in 2011 with a degree in…

Grand Prize Winner Supernormal by Thomas Krajewski Finalists Bleach by Shawn Boxe Expiration Date by Wes Meilandt / Nathan Bayne / Tim Black Modern Family (Spec) by Tracy Reilly PCU: Petty Crimes Unit by Ben Taylor Pioneer Village by Greg Wayne Security by Brian Hurney III by Kimberly Barrante Truett Ave. by Alev Aydin Widowmakers by Kirk Weddell

Grand Prize Winner Yukon by Jackson Sinder Finalists Ad Game by Greg Wayne Children of Eden by Teresa Huang Electric Church by Marissa Cerar Karamazov by Edward Sills Law Show by Marc Shuter Resident by Andrew Gerngross Resolved by Logan Slakter The Cave by Michael Rebagliati The Watson School for Girls by Dane Anderson

Grand Prize Winner Concierge by Alex Pickering / Lea Dizon / Matthew Breault Finalists Clyde by Jason Skorski Concierge by Alex Pickering / Lea Dizon / Matthew Breault Freebird by Simon Kay Hush by Jessica St. James Naked Guys by Michael Levin Poker Face by Nick Alioto Super Phillainy by Jeffrey Meurer The Anti-Social Network by Jennifer Ruisch The Exotic Detective by Joe Downey The Tao of Max Stone by Dean Alioto

Grand Prize Winner Unorthodox by David Love Finalists Bad Medicine by Jenna Ryan Breathers by Will Wallace & Adrianna McKinley Full Tilt Boogie by Amber Crawford-Idell Mad Men – “Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot” by Ben Yip Modern Family – “Save the Date” by Loren Schiller Pulling Strings by Ben Yip Sleepers by Frederick Kim Strong Bitter by Max Lance The Office – Godfather by Nick Alioto

Grand Prize Winner Modern Family – “Last Will and Temperament” by Benjamin Morgan Finalists Curb Your Enthusiasm – “The Tribe” by David Love Dexter – “A Family Affair” by Luther Mace Domain by Jennifer Ruisch Eastbound and Down – “Sex Ed” by Haji Outlaw Friday Night Lights – “Survive and Move On” by Clayton Henry Holden 2.0 by Sean Mach & Jessica Dolan Modern Family – “Let’s Get this Party Started” by Teresa Lo Obnoxious Older Sister’s Know-it-all Guide to Your Teens by Julie Anne Wight Rescue Me – “Feelings” by Alex G. Pickering

Grand Prize Winner Dexter – “The Rites of Spring” by Todd Lepre Finalists 30 Rock – “Tracey Jordan, MD” by Paul Malewitz & Matt Manser 30 Rock – “Cut and Run” by Enzo Mileti It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – “Dog Show” by John Adler Bones – “The Student in the Stacks” by Helen Shang Breaking Bad – “Mr Clean” by Clark Childers Eastbound and Down – “Waiting for Bus Cook, Super Sports Agent” by Luke Ricci Mad Men – “A Fire Inside” by Clark Childers Skipland by Jessica Dolan & Sean Mach Two Harbors by Jim Macak

Grand Prize Winner The Office – “The Crossword Puzzle” by Beau Henry 1st Place: Dexter – “Slow News Day” by Ryan Harris & Brian Lubocki 2nd Place: Californication – “Redemption Song” by John Fein 3rd Place: Home Game Hero by Douglas Robbins