Testimonials
Our participants tell us their time at Stowe Story Labs has offered them the kind of environment that propels them into the next stage of their evolution as writers. Check out some of the kind things people have said about us.
“Stowe Story Labs offers the most important kind of environment for a writer: a safe, supportive place in which to be open and take risks. The balanced focus on both the business and the art of writing allows you to go deep into your story in practical ways.”
MELODY COOPER
Stowe Alumnus (2017 Tangerine Fellow), and now mentor and board member.
“I'm so grateful to have received the fellowship which allowed me to join the incredibly gifted, brilliant, and supportive Stowe community. I am still reeling from not only the valuable insight I was given and lessons taught over the lab, but also the boost in morale as a screenwriter from you both and every single person involved.”
MORGAN B. POWELL
2021 Stowe Diverse Voices Fellow
“My experience with the Stowe Producer's Lab was invaluable. The team at Stowe cultivates a community of mentors who are experts in the industry and extremely passionate about supporting rising filmmakers. I am very grateful to have been selected for such a wonderful program with filmmakers that were eager to expand on their producing skills and create an environment that encouraged each other to collaborate. I have developed lasting connections with both the fellows and mentors that I know will only benefit my career as a producer.”
SAM SCOLARICI
2022 Producers Lab
“From the selection process, the in-person retreats and online curriculum, I felt supported, heard and empowered to further my TV pilot with my writing partner. I walked away with much needed tools in my writing kit, a better sense of story and character, more confidence to pitch my idea and an empowered feeling of what I need to do next to get my story in the hands of development executives and producers.”
KIRA SIPLER
2022 New Voices • New Mexico Program
TARATOA STAPPARD
2021 Final Draft Fellow, 2022 California Writers Retreat
“An excellent program, seamlessly delivered by top calibre mentors to a perfectly curated group of participants in a wonderful location. I was able to share stories and experiences with fellow writers and my peer group gifted me inspirational suggestions on how to progress my feature script.”
“Stowe has been so instrumental in my development as a writer and I am so grateful for everything that has been poured into me. As artists, we all need a creative home and I found that here.”
LA’CHRIS JORDAN
2020 Stowe Narrative Lab Participant
“The work that Stowe does to identify emerging writers and nurture them is best in class. And Stowe nurtures writers in the right way, in an environment that is carefully curated to uplift the voices of writers who are from historically marginalized communities and from other types of communities who are not represented.
MARCELA DAVISON AVILES
2022 New Voices • New Mexico Program Mentor, 2020 Writers Retreat Participant
"Fellowship opportunities like these are vital in creating a more democratic and diverse storytelling landscape. Unlike dry networking events, the environment at the Labs bred authentic and lasting friendships between screenwriters and folks in the filmmaking industry.”
ERIKA VALENCIANA
2019 Wescreenplay Diverse Voices Fellow
“The Stowe Narrative Lab came at the perfect time for me! It’s made me feel incredibly prepared and able to take on opportunities that have crossed my path since attending. I’ve been made better for all of the wonderful writers I met there, and am proud to be a part of this fantastic community."
VICTORIA LUCIA
2019 NEF Fellow
Fighting my own introverted nature to attend my first retreat was, I realized much later, a crucial moment in my life as a writer. The support I've found in this community has played a big part in my creative projects over the past few years. I've come to view Stowe as my screenwriting home. These are friendships I will keep and a support network I can't live without!"
REBECCA MLINEK
2022, 2020, 2018, 2017 Lab & Retreat Alum
“Thank you for being so open, honest, and allowing us the freedom to express. The mad world we all work in can feel lonely and detached. It can feel competitive instead of embracing. The week, the people you brought together made it probably one of the most important weeks of my life. Thank you.”
ROISIN KEARNEY
2022 Connemara Writers Retreat Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Fellow
“I have loved learning about Stowe’s programs and getting to know the people at Stowe. It’s very telling how the stories Stowe selects are always diverse in genre, style, and content, but consistent in heart, decency, and humanity—from the stories to the storytellers. It’s unique for a lab of this caliber to be so thoughtful in curating not just the projects but the people behind them. After every program, I always feel so inspired by the participants’ enthusiasm, positivity, generosity, and graciousness, and a bit more hopeful for our broken world.”
BERTHA BAY-SA PAN
2022 MENTOR
"This is the first time I’ve gotten any insight into the world of casting. Ellen’s [Stowe mentor] passion for her work is evident and infectious."
EAFAT NEWTON
2014 Stowe Participant
“I am still riding a high from the experience, one that I will truly never forget. It was truly the most rewarding professional and artistic experience that I’ve had and I am thrilled to be a member of the alumni community and look forward to engaging with future labs and Stowe offerings to come.”
AMY DEPAOLA
2022 Stowe Narrative Lab Participant
I want to thank Stowe Story Labs and the New Mexico Film Office for working together in bringing this great program to New Mexico. I can already see how positive it is impacting me, both as a writer and as a person."
RAQUEL TROYCE
2022 New Voices • New Mexico Program
“Thanks to the pitching skills, and practice, I gained at the Lab, I was able to land a manager at Heroes and Villains Entertainment. Writing the script was one thing. Learning out to get it out into the world was another skill entirely!”
BENJAMIN REEVES
2020 Stowe Narrative Lab Participant
“It's taken the past few days for the weight of the week to really sink in. The community that you are creating is so inspiring, and I left Connemara feeling so hopeful and more sure of myself as a writer than I have ever felt. The people I met, the stories I had the pleasure of reading and listening to, filled me right up. I was walking around the grounds of Renvyle and through the corridors constantly on the brink of happy tears. I thank you too for sharing the story of your father with us and I'm so glad that Ireland could help in your healing. There's magic in the Atlantic, that I'm sure of. I thank you for allowing me to be part of this community and I am sure I will see you at future retreats.”
RACHEL ALEXANDER
2022 Connemara Writers Retreat Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Fellow
“In the couple of months since attending the 2014 Stowe Story Labs, I’ve successfully pitched a feature concept to a producer, struck a deal to write a screenplay, and received a government grant to develop a children’s TV series. Stowe Story Labs, and the people I met there, both developed my pitching confidence and skills and provided the community I could call on to help guide me through it all.”
PAUL BISSETT
2014 Stowe Participant and PAGE Bronze Medal Winner
"Traveling from Australia to Vermont is no small thing. But I’ve done it, twice, to attend the Stowe Story Labs. Stowe provides a safe space for lively debate, feedback, reflection, and learning, which in and of itself is worth attending for… but for me, the really special thing about Stowe is the other writers, who never feel like competition – these friendships feel somehow conspiratorial – as if we shouldn’t be having this much fun. I guess the most telling thing about Stowe is the fact that after attending twice, one of my long term goals is to one day be invited back as a mentor – to be able to share my knowledge and experience and insight with a new group of writers – to give back to the Stowe community.”
CLARE SLADDEN
2016 Stowe Narrative Lab and 2017 Writers Retreat Participant
"Stowe is fantastic in that they care more about your unique story than polish or experience. If you have a story to share, please apply. You are in safe, encouraging hands.”
DEREK NICOLETTO
2019 Sidewalk Lab, 2021 November Retreat, and Feature Campus Participant
“I have been writing since I was in 2nd grade and nothing has ever come of it until this year. Whatever my future writing career may hold, I can say that it started in Stowe.”
JAKE TAYLOR
2018 PAGE Fellow
“That was an awesome, action-packed learning experience. The Writing Diverse Characters workshop was excellent. SUPER DOPE is my official Stowe Narrative Labs battle cry. Appreciation to all!
NICOLE BURTON-BENNETT
2021 June Stowe Narrative Lab Participant
"My experience at Stowe Story Labs was very important. The network of people I met there extended all over the world and stayed connected with me in the years that followed. But importantly, the Labs helped me zero in on the story I was trying to tell. Several years later, the story I brought to Stowe Story Labs became the film that helped me get admitted to grad film at both NYU Tisch, and USC as a George Lucas Scholar. Stowe Story Labs was a great experience that I think will continue to shape what's to come."
JEREMY LEE MACKENZIE
2015 Champlain College Fellow and 2025 PAGE Awards Gold Prize Winner
"I consider Stowe to be THE turning point in my writing life, and can’t recommend it enough.”
NIKHIL KAMKOLKAR
2017 Stowe Participant
"I’ve learnt so much from Feature Campus that I haven’t fully percolated it all. David was so supportive and filled with so many tips and guidance which I’ll carry with me for years to come. The rest of the group were also so inspiring, warm and brimming with help, and equally kind and supportive about me being a newbie to screenwriting. And… I’ve got a 1st draft feature screenplay I’m rather proud of!"
ALYSIA MACIEJOWSKA
Screen Scotland Fellow at the 2018 Stowe Narrative Lab and 2022 Feature Campus
