Luke Geddes, a graduate student in the Department of English at Wichita State University, has been named the winner of the 2011 Carol and Elton Holman Screenwriting competition for his screenplay, “The Brill Building.”

Geddes, who graduates this spring with a master’s degree in creative writing, will receive a $500 award. He is a native of Appleton, Wisc., and attended Appleton West High School.

While at Wichita State, Geddes has been a graduate teaching assistant, teaching English Composition and Introduction to Creative Writing. He describes himself as “primarily a prose fiction writer,” having published short stories in literary journals, including Hayden's Ferry Review, Gargoyle, Pank and Jabberwock Review.

Geddes was awarded the Stephen C. Barr Endowed Fellowship at WSU and will begin his doctoral work in English and creative writing at the University of Cincinnati in the fall.


His screenplay is set in the iconic Brill Building in New York City during the early 1960s. The central characters are part of the pop music scene. There’s tension in the air as the writers and producers sense a change in musical tastes.

“Luke Geddes has a clear sense of character and place,” said Mike Wood, director of the Film Studies Certificate Program at WSU. “His dialogue is some of the most natural that I’ve read.”

This is the ninth time that the award has been given. It is made possible by an endowment from Elton and Carol Holman. Carol Holman was the director of WSU’s Media Resources Center from 1956 to 1978.

For more information, contact Mike Wood at (316) 978-7750.