Fox Writers Incubator Nominates 2023 Fellows

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Entertainment has announced the names of five fellows for the 2023 Fox Writers Incubator (FWI), an initiative aimed at nurturing diverse and creative voices and educating five writers across genres, including comedy, drama and animation.

Savannah Lobel, Annie C. Wright, Jade Puga & Richard Montes and Kimba Henderson were named 2023 FWI Fellows. They were selected from more than 1300 candidates.

The Fox Writers Incubator initiative, now in its second year, is a rigorous three-month workshop focused on improving writing skills, professional development and exploring the media and entertainment business. It also offers its Fellows opportunities for one-on-one mentorship with Fox executives.

Upon successful completion of FWI, grantees will work on series produced by Fox Entertainment’s in-house production unit, Fox Entertainment Studios, and animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.

“Last year’s inaugural FWI was a resounding success, producing some of the most exciting new creative voices in our orbit,” said Michael Thorn, President of Scripted Programming at Fox Entertainment. “Year Two continues to attract gifted writers who embody creativity and inclusiveness. We are delighted to be working with Savannah, Annie, Jade, Richard and Kimba to bring their visions to life.”

The FOX Writers Incubator 2023 Award Recipients:

ANIMATION

Savanna Lobel

Savannah Lobel is a writer, director, comedian and producer originally from Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from The Hartt School with a BFA in Musical Theatre, Savannah moved to New York City and began doing stand-up comedy. After taking online writing courses at The Second City, she wrote and co-directed the short film. Santa Con: The War Against Christmas, starring Catherine Curtin, was selected at twelve film festivals around the world and won Best Comedy Short at the London International Short Film Festival. your original pilot, John Proctor must dieplaced in the finals of the Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition 2022 and won the Scriptmatix Pilot Season Screenwriting Competition 2023. Her latest short film, Hello, was produced by the 2022 Women’s Weekend Film Challenge and premiered at Village East in New York City.

COMEDY

Annie C Wright

Originally from Rhode Island, Annie C. Wright is a comedy writer, occasional director and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America. your original pilot, KEYS, As a result of her long-term caregiving experience, she was selected for the second round of the Sundance Episodic Lab and nominated for a Jury Award at the Austin Film Festival in 2021. strange people and strong New England accents are involved. Her work has been performed on stages and screens throughout Southern California, and she may have written some of the streaming commercials you missed.

THEATER

Jade Puga and Richard Montes

Jade Puga and Richard Montes form a writing and filming team. Richard has directed her indie films: Pass the microphonea 60-minute documentary about the contributions of Latinos to the hip-hop genre (featured in the American Film Institute’s Music Documentary Series), and aurophobia, a narrative satire. Her short films have been screened at more than 40 film festivals. Richard was a Native American Media Alliance (NAMA) Features Lab Fellow and Jade was a NAMA TV Writers Lab Fellow. Their historical drama was in the top 10% of the 2022 Nicholl Fellowship. The pair were semifinalists for the CBS Writers Mentorship Program in 2018, and their television pilots were completed in several labs, including the Sundance Institute’s Episodic and New Voices Labs. Jade was a Hola Mexico Film Festival “Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today” Fellow and was named a 2021 California Arts Council Arts Administrator of Color Fellow for the Los Angeles area. Richard Montes is a graduate of Cal State Long Beach (BA degree) and Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts (MFA degree). Jade attended USC’s School of Theater (BA degree). In 2022, Richard and Jade wrote a Historic-Cultural Monument nomination for a large mural in Highland Park Chicano.

Kimb Henderson

Kimba Henderson was born in Detroit, the youngest of three Navy brothers, and grew up in San Diego. While studying Dramatic Writing at NYU, she discovered her passion for writing stories that explore the beauty and complexity of different worlds and cultures, often with a focus on legacy. She began her career as a writer for documentaries and true crime shows. As a playwright, her work has been recognized by the NAACP and the United Solo Festival in New York. Most recently, Kimba was a finalist for the Universal Screenwriters Lab and the Walt Disney TV Writing Program. She also wrote the book and credits for the photo book, Black Hollywood: Iconic Movie Moments Reinterpreted. She also works with the alumni group Tisch Represents, which promotes the career advancement of underrepresented writers, actors and directors through collaborations between emerging, mid-career and established alumni.