The Emerging Writers Fellowship program gives emerging writers the access, opportunity, and exposure they need to hone their writing skills and further their careers.

In 2014, NBCUniversal launched an Emerging Writers Fellowship. This paid one-year fellowship program gives emerging writers the access, opportunity, and exposure they need to hone their writing skills and further their careers. Specifically, writers gain invaluable access to the inner workings of a studio so they understand how the NBCUniversal team works together to create film content.

In its inaugural year, more than 700 applicants were screened, resulting in the selection of five fellows: Chandus T. Jackson, Margaret Rose Lester, Steve Martinez, Ivy Pruss, and Salia Reyes.

The program is designed to identify and cultivate new and unique voices with a passion for storytelling. This in turn helps us in our mission to expand the community of writers that we rely upon to generate innovative and compelling story ideas that appeal to ever-evolving movie-going audiences.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

 

EMERGING WRITER FELLOW
CHANDUS T. JACKSON

I’m originally from Mobile, Alabama, and I’ve had several careers. I started out in the Army — spent about six years over in Europe — and worked in banking and finance before transitioning to writing full-time.

I always knew I had a creative urge. In high school, I was in the symphonic marching band. In the Army, I kept a journal about my travels around Europe. Screenwriting came a little bit later, but it was something that transcended all that came before it and brought all my early experiences to light.

Throughout the Emerging Writers Program, film executives from every part of the business offer insight into what it takes to get a film off the ground.

My primary mentor is Chris Morgan, a writer on most of the "Fast and the Furious" movies. He’s helped me look at what I’m writing and really understand the audience experience.

I’ve also had the opportunity to meet new contacts and develop relationships with people that I probably wouldn’t have met before. I want to sustain those relationships, come back for a pitch, and work with the NBCUniversal teamto make one of my movies.