UCLA graduate student Meg Gifford received the $15,000 first place prize in the 55th annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards for her script “Paint it Black” at a ceremony at the James West Alumni Center on Monday.
Four of the five nominees for the award were Bruins: Owen Donovan Yarde received third place and $4,000 for his script “Hit and Run,” while Matt Wheeler and Ryan Finnerty won first and second honorable mentions, respectively. Wheeler received $2,000 for “How to Leave Your Lover,” and Finnerty received $1,000 for “Short Stories.” Second place and $7,500 went to Branden Cahn of UC Santa Barbara for “Burnt Bridges of Cartwright.”
The Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards were started in 1955 to celebrate stage, film and television writers from the University of California campuses.