The winners of the 55th annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards were announced last night [Nov 1] by Samuel Goldwyn Jr, president of The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation.

This year’s winners were: Meg Gifford (UCLA) in first place for Paint It Black; Branden Cahn (UCSB) in second place for Burnt Bridges Of Cartwright; and Owen Donovan Yarde (UCLA) in third place for Hit And Run.

The first honorable mention went to Matt Wheeler (UCLA) for How To Leave Your Lover and a second honorable mention went to Ryan Finnerty (UCLA) for Short Stories.

The judges were CAA agent Rich Green, former editor of The Hollywood Reporter Elizabeth Guider and Regency Entertainment chairman Hutch Parker.

“We had a record number of entries this year and the judges and I were very impressed with the talent, skill and craft of the writers,” Goldwyn Jr said.

“It is a privilege to be associated with this distinguished award programme that is designed to nurture new talent and great storytelling – the place where it all begins,” UCLA School Of Theater, Film And Television dean Teri Schwartz said.

The Goldwyn Awards carry prizes of $15,000 for first place, $7,500 for second place, $4,000 for third place, $2,000 and $1,000 for honorable mentions.