American Indian screenwriter from Okla. receives fellowship at

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 10, 2008

Steven Judd, a Norman native, is one of 14 new fellows selected for the 18th annual Disney-ABC Television Writing Fellowship Program.

Judd attended Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., but returned to Norman to attend the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in communications and minored in Native American studies.

Judd, who is Kiowa and Choctaw, started his own production company, Restless Natives, which has produced several projects, including American Indian Graffiti, a feature film that he co-wrote and co-directed.

One of his short films was a 2007 semifinalist of NBC/ Universal's Comedy Short Cuts. As a writer, Judd was named the 2005 Storyteller of the Year of Native Word Craft Writing Circle and attended the Disney-ABC and Institute of American Indian Arts Writer's Track in 2007.

The 14 fellows were selected from more than 2,500 applicants.

The writing program includes workshops, seminars and personalized mentoring with creative executives from ABC Entertainment Television Group, ABC Studios, Disney Channel, ABC Family and the Walt Disney Studios. Fellows receive a salary for the year.

"The studio has been involved with this prestigious program for the past 18 years," said Jason Reed, executive vice president, production, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production.

"The results have been very rewarding, as many of these talented and diverse writers have gone on to become creative forces in the entertainment industry. We look forward to working with this year's gifted writers."