Following two first-place wins in 2025, students and alumni of Stony Brook’s MFA in TV Writing have earned six semifinalist placements in the 2026 Austin Film Festival Script Competition. All six entries remain in contention for top honors.
In 2025, recent alum Anna Zabel won the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award for Courier Girls, while current student Cynthia He received the Best Drama Teleplay Spec Award for her episode of Yellowjackets.
This year’s semifinalists build on that success:
- Carol Garcia’s Achievement Inc is a semifinalist for both Best Drama Pilot and the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award. Garcia wrote the script in her first-year television writing class with Program Director Alan Kingsberg.
- Cynthia He is in contention for a second consecutive Best Drama Teleplay Spec Award for her episode of Heated Rivalry.
- Nelson Downend’s The International School, developed in Stony Brook’s post graduate TV Pilot Incubator, is a semifinalist for Best Drama Pilot.
- Dawn Cowle is a semifinalist in two categories: Best Comedy Teleplay Spec for her episode of Hacks and Best Digital Series for Old Bogus Massacre, which she created with fellow alumni Baylor Knobloch and Matthew McFadden.
“This kind of success at the country’s most prestigious television script competition is unprecedented, particularly for such a small, boutique program,” Kingsberg said. “Our students and alumni continue to distinguish themselves through their talent, dedication and hard work. They have made extraordinary strides and are the pride of our program.”
Kingsberg will also participate in the Austin Film Festival this year, leading a panel on October 30 examining how an MFA can help launch a career in television. He will be joined by recent alumni Mallory Baysek, writer and co-producer on the Anne Hathaway series Fear Not; Anna Zabel, showrunners’ assistant and writers’ assistant on Fear Not; and Cynthia He. Showrunner Bash Doran, whose credits include Boardwalk Empire, The Looming Tower and Fear Not, will also participate. The panel will explore the education, professional preparation and industry relationships that help emerging writers make the transition from graduate school to working careers in television.
About Stony Brook’s MFA in TV Writing
Featuring small workshops run like professional writers’ rooms, intensive one-on-one advisement, and supporting classes with industry professionals, Stony Brook’s MFA in TV Writing is located in the heart of Manhattan and is partnered with Killer Films. Its mission is to empower students to create the TV writing portfolios that can launch their careers.
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