A screenplay by former Cincinnatian Brian Wray and co-author Tejal K. Desai is one of five 2003 winners of the most prestigious screenwriting contest in the United States.

The two men will received a $30,000 Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a ceremony in Beverly Hills on Nov. 20. Wray now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Desai lives in Middletown, Conn., though his parents recently moved to Cincinnati.

The screenplay by Wray and Desai, Linda and Henry, is the first collaborative effort to win a Nicholl fellowship.

Another local writer, Ryan M. Smith of Milford, was named one of 10 finalists for this year's fellowships based on his script, Random Thoughts on Self-Destruction.

The contest, which drew 6,048 entries this year, is designed to recognize new writers. Previous winners include Mike Rich (Radio, Finding Forrester), Karen Moncrieff (Blue Car), Ehren Kruger (The Ring, Arlington Road), Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), Raymond De Felitta (Two Family House) and Andrew W. Marlowe (Air Force One, Hollow Man).

Margaret A. McGurk