In partnership with The Loreen Arbus Foundation, to provide support for two screenwriters with disabilities to attend the Athena Writers Lab. This Fellowship includes ongoing mentorship for 6 months and funding to ensure all lab activities are fully accessible.
2025 & 2026 Loreen Arbus Fellows
Dryland (formerly JUST KEEP S******* ) by Kai Dorsey
Simply put JUST KEEP S******* is TED LASSO meets 30 ROCK; the world is set in June at the country’s premier Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs — 399 days until the Olympics and only 3 months into the qualification period for Trials. Despite being largely unknown, a handful of the more successful professional swimmers on the US National Swim Team still believe they’re god’s gift to mankind; so JUST KEEP S******* will follow the team through two sets of Olympics as the swimmers experience wins, losses, mental health issues, injuries, and romance, the audience will get a glimpse into how the athletes grow as they face life as professionals in one of the most physically demanding sports. The main character, Cameron Evans, will gain confidence that benefits not only the team, but also herself, leading to a challenging, yet illustrious career.
Milkmaid/Soldier by Talena Sanders
Set in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in the final year of World War II, Milkmaid/Soldier follows Verena, a young Dutch courier, whose bond with a daring operative named Jo draws her deeper into the resistance. As their love intensifies, the women risk everything on missions to sabotage the Nazis and save lives, while confronting secrecy, grief, and the price of defiance. Against a backdrop of constant surveillance and hidden queer networks, the story explores what it means to fight for love and justice in a world that punishes both.
Previous Fellows
Chronic Elle by Cheryl Meyer
Ripe by Melanie Ojwang
Shorty Doo-Wop, Esquire by Stephan Collins-Stephy
White Hat by Sarah Granger
