Alum Sian Heder Wins Academy Award

It goes without saying, we could not be more proud of alum Sian Heder for her film CODA. But we still want to say it.

CODA won all three of its nominations at the 94th Academy Award Ceremony - Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and, most relevant to our work here, Best Adapted Screenplay! The film also won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture and the WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Before all that, CODA had its world premiere on January 28, 2021, at Sundance where Apple acquired its distribution rights for a festival-record $25 million. These are all amazing accomplishments to say the least.

Most people don’t get to see the hard work and sacrifice that writers make in order to succeed. Writing takes a boatload of dedicated time and a willingness to take risks both personally and on the page. Despite the image of a meditative writer at a desk overlooking a tranquil landscape, a writer’s life usually includes a fair amount of anxiety and instability.

For us here at Almanack, Sian’s success is validation that we are finding and supporting people who are not only talented but committed to the long road of building a writing career. Admittedly, we played a small part in Sian’s journey, but we’re proud to count her as part of our family. Congratulations to Sian for this accomplishment but even more importantly for the hard work and determination and thick skin of it all. We are looking forward to your next everything.