Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

09/02/2026

Congratulations to Friend of the MFA writer Winnie Holzman who is this year's Kieser Award nominee - a special lifetime achievement honor presented by the Humanitas Prize to writers whose work champions our shared humanity. You know Holzman from her work creating "My So Called Life" and the book for "Wicked". She's appeared as a special guest lecturer at our MFA Residency Workshops several times!

08/29/2026

Congratulations to MFA alum Iris Almaraz - her short film 'Rocketship' is screening at several upcoming festivals - Outside LA and in Southern California:
UPCOMING FESTIVALS OUTSIDE OF LA

📍 Urban Film Festival | Miami
September 2–4

📍 River Bend Film Festival | Indiana
September 3–5

📍 American International Short Film Festival
September 14–17

📍 Mystic Film Festival | Connecticut
September 24–27

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCREENINGS

📍 The Great Film Festival | Frida Cinema, Santa Ana
August 29

📍 Indiewood Film Festival | Chinese Theatre, Hollywood
Festival dates: September 10–18
Screening details coming soon

📍 Simi Valley Film Festival | Simi Valley
Friday, September 18 at 7 p.m.

📍 Catalina Film Festival
Saturday, September 26 at 11 a.m.
Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Stephens College
Stephens College

08/28/2026

Our MFA alums always enjoy a private tour of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Now's your chance to enjoy a bit of it as well by watching Adam Savage (formerly of the Mythbusters and now of Tested on YouTube) who recently toured the Herrick as well. In this video you'll see familiar places and faces:

At the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library, Adam tours through the c...

08/28/2026

Congratulations to MFA alum Stevie Nelson (Class of 2022) - her horror pilot "Cultivation" is a top 15 finalist for the 13th annual FilmQuest Festival. Cultivation is a 60-minute horror pilot where Gilmore Girls devolves into Hereditary.

08/25/2026

Check out the latest newsletter chronicling our most recent 2- week MFA Residency Workshops - who we met - where we went - what we learned!
Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Stephens College
Stephens College

Kimberlea Kressal, Alumna, discussed the “art of the spec script.” Teaching how our young writers embody the voice of a show. This is something our newest cohort is going to need for their upcoming specs.

08/22/2026

Congratulations to MFA Mentor Maria Escobedo - As story editor of Rosie's Rules she's part of the team who have won the 2026 Imagen Award for Best Youth Programming! Two years ago she was nominated for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Media Production!
Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Stephens College
Stephens College

08/19/2026

Congratulations to MFA alum Randi Barros (left) for receiving the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo College of Liberal Arts Douglas L. Epperson Innovation Award! "This award recognizes a CLA faculty member who generates innovative scholarship and/or pedagogies that advance the college in creative and useful ways for students and faculty and advance the college."

08/18/2026

Congratulations to MFA alums John Lewis and Pamela Winfrey - their short film: "Quaranteen: A Ghost Story" has been selected for the Big Apple Film Festival On Demand Youtube Channel. You can watch the film at the link below.

During the COVID pandemic, an American teenager struggles in her re...

08/15/2026

Congratulations to Stephens College MFA Mentor Jennifer Maisel - Production has wrapped in LA on 'The Last Seder' a script Jennifer adapted from her play about: “The Price daughters return to their Long Island childhood home for what their mother, Lily, secretly knows will be their last Passover Seder — the house is sold, their father’s Alzheimer’s is accelerating, and Lily is planning the next chapter of her life."
Conservatory for the Performing Arts at Stephens College
Stephens College
https://deadline.com/2026/08/thora-birch-barbara-hershey-jeff-perry-last-seder-movie-1237038631/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTtgahwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR6OGqWSp_VtAv2Mqd3fst7Q325yQ1c4nQUjGd_fm3SLjIJrfCNyYS8oIJMA9w_aem_uxeFM5VqjwOOauea8jEbAA

Thora Birch, Barbara Hershey, Jeff Perry & Morgan Saylor Among Cast For Indie Feature 'The Last Seder'.

08/12/2026

Wonder what being a student at Stephens College looks like? Here’s an inside scoop.


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