Stony Brook’s MFA in TV Writing scores big at Austin Film Festival for second consecutive year
Students and alumni of the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) Master of Fine Arts 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. This follows two first-place wins at the 2025 festival.
This year’s semifinalists include:
- 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 co...