Hallie Stephenson ’25 Earns Inaugural Fellowship
The Playwriting and Screenwriting/Arts Management major is among the International Screenwriters’ Association ‘s first-ever class of Student Fellows.
Script Abel’s Baby Earns More Accolades
The International Screenwriters’ Association (ISA) announced its first-ever class of Student Fellows as it launches the ISA Student Fellowship, a new initiative to discover, educate, and empower the next generation of screenwriters.
Hallie Stephenson ’25 was one of three selected for their originality, voice, and storytelling potential for her project Abel’s Baby.
The Student Fellowship was created to provide emerging talent — especially students and early-career creatives — with access to mentorship, industry insight, and professional development. Established in 2008, the ISA is a resource for screenwriters looking to launch or reinvigorate their careers
Each Student Fellow will receive a career planning session with an ISA development executive, as well as free access to industry classes, professional feedback services, and curated ISA resources.
Sloan Foundation Student Prizes
Previously, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Sloan Foundation announced the winners of the 2024 Sloan Student Prizes, selected by a jury of scientists and film industry professionals. The jury awarded Stephenson honorable mention for her pilot script Abel’s Baby.
Stephenson then participated in the the Sloan Film Summit held last May in Los Angeles.
The Birth of Abel’s Baby
Logline: A convict in the late 18th century discovers she is pregnant while aboard a prisoner transport ship on route to Australia and uses her expert knowledge of 18th-century physics, engineering, and chemistry to save herself and her unborn child.
Stephenson first conceptualized the project in a creative writing class at age 16.
“The original story was about a young girl struggling to save her injured dog using her knowledge of medicine while they were on a sailboat. The story transformed into an episodic, historical, crime thriller series that deals with issues of reproductive rights, sexual coercion, inmate abuse, domestic violence, the criminalization of queerness and informed consent,” she says.
“This series is a gritty, raw and at times wholesome exploration of survival combining the profound frustration in The Handmaid’s Tale, the forbidden love found in Bridgerton, the empowering spirit of Molly Smith Metzler’s Maid and a whole lot of fascinating science.”
Purchase Experience
Stephenson, who double-majored in Playwriting and Screenwriting and Arts Management with minors in Visual Arts and Film/Video Production, credits her screenwriting professors for ther role in her success.
“My professors Dean Bell and JD Zeik have been incredible resources for me in navigating the Screenwriting program at Purchase College and preparing me to begin my career in screenwriting upon graduation.”
The senior plans to write in a writer’s room on a television show or work as a showrunner for a drama series following graduation this May.
More From Purchase
Playwriting and Screenwriting alum Aleeza Benyona ’20 was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Sloan Student Discovery Prize for her feature screenplay Grapefruit.
And in 2019, film major Andrew Rodriguez ’19 won the Sloan Discovery Prize in its inaugural year.
The Museum of the Moving Image celebrated the Sloan Student Award winners at the 14th edition of its annual festival First Look in March 2025.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has been awarding production and screenwriting grants to filmmakers since 1997. The Sloan Film Program aims to influence the next generation of filmmakers to tackle science and technology themes and characters, to increase visibility for feature films that depict this subject matter, and to develop new work that can be produced and released theatrically.