Congratulations to our Distinctly Independent Fellowship Winners!

We have selected Kelly Browne, and Lara Celenza, two deserving winners of the $2500 Distinctly Independent Fellowship, who will start their Basic Training on Saturday, July 27th.  Each will develop their project from idea through three drafts over the 10-week process.

–With a background in TV/Film development and production, Los Angeles native Kelly Browne holds a Master of Arts in Screenwriting from Cal State University, Northridge and is a best-selling author of five books with several television and film projects on the horizon.

–Born in 1982 in Vasto, Italy, and now residing in Berlin, Lara Celenza holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Bologna and an MPhil in Russian Studies from the University of Cambridge, and, after professional training in directing at the Raindance Film School, founded Kalifilm Productions in 2010 to create award-winning, thought-provoking audiovisual art including her debut feature “Lost in the City” (2022).

As always, the winners were evaluated on a combination of factors, including artistic background, the unique quality and perspective of their answers within their application responses and commentary, and the clarity of conceptual distinctions.  Once the larger field was narrowed down based on the caliber of applications, the winners were selected from the smaller group of highly ranked writers based on the viability and entertainment potential of the project ideas.  In effect, in each Fellowship category the overall quality of application answers will illustrate the writer’s potential to execute the writing quality of their project.

We’re very happy to support the creative goals of these three winners as they become active alumni in our Writers Boot Camp community!