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 Joey Clift, whose short film POW! has qualified for the Oscars in the Best Animated Short category! POW! is an animated comedy short about a young Native kid trying to find a place to charge his video game console at a powwow. It marks one of the first times powwows and ledger art have been featured in animation.
Just announced at AFM: Megan J. Wilson's survival thriller AVALANCHE EXPRESS is set to shoot in the Alps in spring 2026! Produced by Prestige International Pictures and directed by J.P. Watts, the story follows a train conductor who leads her passengers to safety after an avalanche buries their commuter train.
Elise Salomon 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.
Stacey Russell's feature coming-of-age dramedy THE OPEN AIR was selected out of over 11,000 submissions to be one of six drama feature finalists for the Austin Film Festival's screenplay competition this year.
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 Live-Action Film at the Grand Rapids Comic-Con Film Festival, Best Short Film at Seattle Worldcon 2025, and Best of Show at the Rocket City Short 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 the Grand Prize at the Jeonju International Short Film Festival in Korea, the New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Directing, and four Audience Awards for Best Short. The feature version of SAVERIO is currently in development. In February, Ellen will shoot her next short film, 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, and was named to Roadmap Writers' Top 25 Short Films of 2025. It won Best Short Story Adaptation at the Highlands Horror Film Fest. In addition, Gina’s feature script THE KNOCKING AT THE MARSH won Best Regional Horror Feature Screenplay at GenreBlast Film 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.
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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Kathryn Orwig placed as a Silver Winner in the 2025 Page Awards with her feature screenplay PIRATE QUEEN OF THE RED FLAG FLEET. The script is inspired by the true story of ruthless Pirate Queen Ching Shih who led 40,000 pirates into a brutal clash with the Portuguese Navy and the Chinese Empire—risking everything to save her loyal crew & proving women warriors are just as brave (& successful!) as men.
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.
