Independent Writers' Caucus
Member News
DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: The Independent Writers’ Caucus has added seven new members to its board of directors.
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Meg LeFauve, Howard A. Rodman, Lorien Mckenna, Garrick Dion, Nitza Wilon, Elizabeth Kaiden and AJ Feuerman will all join long-standing organization chairs James Moorer, Kimberly Sparks, Kim Turner and Rich Orstad. Read the full article here.
Congratulations to Elise Salomon, who has been named as one of the Austin Film Festival's 25 Screenwriters to Watch! She writes present-day folk horror. Her feature climate drama THE 53RD is a semifinalist at AFF, and her horror pilot THE RESTLESS placed as a Second Rounder. In addition, her project CAOINEADH -- one of three horror finalists at AFF 2023 -- is now being packaged with Black Mansion Films.
Rebekah Mueller was chosen as one of five writers, out of 2000 applicants, for the Paramount Writers Mentoring program. The program offers emerging TV writers mentorship and career development with showrunners and EPs. Each writer is paired with two executives from CBS network and CBS Studios.
Reenita M. Hora won this year's CineStory Asian & South Asian Writers Scholarship. The award is awarded to an outstanding Asian or South Asian writer whose screenplay reached the quarterfinalist level or higher in this year’s Feature Retreat & Fellowship Contest.
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Danielle Weinberg’s directorial debut, INVASION ’53, screened at San Diego Comic-Con. Well-known sci-fi actor Jeffrey Combs stars in this sendup of 1950s sci-fi movies. The short film premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Cinequest Film Festival and won Best Short Film at the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival. On its festival run now, the movie has been selected by more than twenty-five festivals.
Ellen Ancui's directorial debut short film, SAVERIO, is rounding the festival circuit, both nationally and internationally. The film has won numerous awards, including: WINNER – New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Directing, and 3 Audience Awards for Best Short. The feature version of SAVERIO is currently in development and Ellen will be shooting her next short film in February 2026, which will have an A-list cast.
THE FARM — a serialized mystery-thriller podcast created and produced by Melody Herr — premiered its first two episodes on September 1, with new episodes dropping each Monday for nine weeks on all major platforms. Sponsored by Little Fish Entertainment, the audio drama follows an architect whose carefully built New York life unravels when family secrets resurface on her childhood farm. The series also showcases IWC members Leah Simmons as a staff writer and James Moorer performing three roles.
Gina DeAngelis’s short film adaptation DOORS premiered at the Indie Short Film Festival in Charlottesville, Virginia. In DOORS, an elfish empty-nester pressures his gentle, eccentric wife to downsize their beloved farmhouse, until he discovers she’s taken his request literally. In addition, Gina’s short script BA, an action thriller, won the script competition and had a live reading at the festival.
As Director of Events for the LA Children's Media Association, IWC member Sabrina Mansfield leads monthly Q&As with notable children's media leaders. She recently interviewed Trisha Tamashiro Gray, Director of Current Series at Disney Jr.
In October, Timothy Mallon's independent TV pilot POUR DECISIONS screened in New York City and Los Angeles, following two sold-out shows in Seattle. POUR DECISIONS is a single-camera mockumentary set in a last-chance Seattle café. A festival run is planned.
Candace Egan's horror screenplay HARDWARE HELL, co-written with Ellie Wallace, is a Second Rounder at Austin Film Festival. Additionally, Candace's screenplay SECOND SET, inspired by her time playing community college tennis in her 50's, won Best Dramedy Screenplay at the Atlanta Women's Film Festival.
Suzanne Griffin was invited to attend Stowe Story Labs Fall 2025 Writers Retreat in Stowe, Vermont, with her Blacklist Recommended feature drama screenplay THE LANGUAGE OF THE SLEEPING HOUSE. The script was also a Stowe Story Labs Accelerator Fellowship Semifinalist.
