
Independent Writers' Caucus
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- Eamonn Cogan | IWC List
< Back Eamonn Cogan eamonncogan30@gmail.com http://www.eamonncogan.com Eamonn Cogan is a neurodivergent Writer/Director from Chicago, Illinois. After seeing Jurassic Park 26 times in the theater at five years old, he knew he had to make movies. He graduated from Drake University's School of Journalism & Mass Communication with a degree in Radio and Television Producing. At Drake, he was a Linebacker on their Division 1-AA Football team. He applied his love for film to his senior thesis project, BEYOND THE BLUE LINE, a short Documentary on which he was a Producer and Lead Videographer. BEYOND THE BLUE LINE won 2 Silver Communicators, a Bronze Telly, and the Upper Midwest Regional Student Award of Excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. After Drake, he began writing and directing. His second short film, THE RULES OF LUCK, was invited to screen as part of the HollyShorts Screening Series at the TCL Chinese Theatre. You can watch THE RULES OF LUCK here: https://vimeo.com/133103980 Eamonn's screenplays have done well in competition, including but not limited to a Finalist and two Semi-finalists at the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition and a Finalist in the Page Awards. Honors & Awards Finalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition - SYMPATHY FOR THE WILD - 2022 Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition - THE FALL OF CARIBOU LODGE - 2023 Semifinalist, Austin Film Festival ScreenplayCompetition - MEMOIRS OF A FINAL GIRL - 2021 non-WGA Male THE FALL OF CARIBOU LODGE Horror BARBARIAN meets THE STRANGERS While visiting her brother's lake house, Madeline and her trio of friends have their reunion cut short when Satanists target the neighbor, a disgraced televangelist. Thrown into a fight for their lives, the friends discover a deeper and darker story than they could have imagined. SYMPATHY FOR THE WILD Adventure QUEEN & SLIM meets BADLANDS with a dash of TRUE ROMANCE Childhood sweethearts set out on a cross-country killing spree en route to Disneyland. While two FBI Agents, hot on their tail, begin questioning if this perfectly executed spree is random or rather an intricate revenge plot 25 years in the making. A HARSH NIGHT AT THE SNAKEBITE Thriller ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 meets GREEN ROOM Stranded at a hole-in-the-wall strip joint in Michigan's Upper Peninsula during a blizzard, four strangers must defend themselves against a militarized cult with white supremacist ties that, for reasons unknown, has surrounded the establishment. Character-driven, Crime, Thriller, Western, Psychological, Horror, Satire, Dark Male unrepped
- Daniel Gámez | IWC List
< Back Daniel Gámez dannygamez@me.com 917-626-0031 Originally from Central America, Daniel writes dysfunctional tales of the Salvadorian-American experience, both as a former immigrant (who didn’t become naturalized until the age of seventeen) and now as a guilt-stricken American Citizen with far too many rights. Having fled from the Salvadorian War at the age of three, Daniel’s take on the Latinx point-of-view is rooted in trauma yet explored through humor. At the core of his writing—whether it be as an overly judgmental spectator of his ancestors or as an ethnically put-upon participant—is Daniel’s cautionary experiences in the never-ending assimilation process, a discipline that Daniel refers to as “A Rights of ‘Otherness’ Passage.” Daniel is also a proudly maladjusted homosexual, which comes with its own otherness stories. As a film instructor, Daniel has taught at AMVA, a vocational film school for teenagers and adults on the Autistic Spectrum. Currently, he runs the Cinema Arts Focus Program at Providence High School in Burbank. non-WGA Male, Latinx, LGBTQ+ LITTLE EL SALVADOR (One-hour dramedy pilot) A thirty-something Salvadorian-American Latino who, after getting dumped by his boyfriend for being too white-washed, attempts to win him back by moving into an ethnically populated apartment complex, all in an attempt to find the Latin roots he suppressed whilst over-assimilating in America. INJUSTICE FOR ALL (One-hour dramedy pilot) Set within the cutthroat world of high school mock-trials at a Law and Government Magnet program, underachieving MANNY (16) has just transferred in, determined to overcome immigrant invisibility by learning the justice system as he navigates coming-of-age as a pansexual, Latinx, illegal teen. “MOST LIKELY TO BE MURDERED” (Feature traumedy) Death-obsessed SANTIAGO (17) befriends a retiring serial-killer to help him commit suicide. However, Devon’s ‘murder-me’ plan takes an unexpected turn when the two outcasts set-out on a victim-prey love-affair that has the power to heal both their wounds. Character-driven, Queer, Romantic, Coming-of-Age, Dark, Bittersweet Male, Latinx, LGBTQ+ unrepped
- Tim Kontje | IWC List
< Back Tim Kontje trkontje@gmail.com Tim is an LA-based screenwriter whose work combines crackerjack action setpieces with emotionally-grounded character arcs and has won numerous contests including Stage 32, Emerging Screenwriters, and Creative Screenwriting. He is also a Nicholl Fellowship semifinalist and recently became a board member of the Junior Hollywood Radio and Television Society. Originally from California, Tim also grew up in Germany and has an MFA in screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. Despite having a twin, he sadly isn’t telepathic. Honors & Awards Winner, Stage 32 Action/Thriller Screenwriting Contest - KITBASH - 2024 Semifinalist, Nicholl Fellowship - ZERO LINE - 2024 Winner, Emerging Screenwriters Action/Adventure Competition - ZERO LINE - 2023 non-WGA Male KITBASH Action Feature NOVOCAINE meets DIE HARD After a slacker maid accidentally gains advanced combat abilities from an experimental serum, she has one hour before it kills her to find a cure and rescue her sister from a psycho billionaire and his private army. ZERO LINE Action/Adventure Feature TOMB RAIDER meets BLOOD DIAMOND When her partner goes missing searching for looted treasure, a hard-charging journalist teams up with a cynical thief and a timid archaeologist in a race through the blood antiquities underworld to find him before a ruthless mercenary corporation. Inspired by true events. BLACK BUTTERFLY Action/Adventure Pilot ROGUE HEROES meets KINGSMAN Berlin, 1941: After her identical twin is killed, a shy young woman must take her sister's place as a spy in the heart of the Nazi Reich. Character-driven, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Historical/Alternative History Male unrepped
- Kelly and Megan Anelons | IWC List
< Back Kelly and Megan Anelons kanelons@me.com Kelly writes with her daughter, Megan, as one of Hollywood’s only mother/daughter writing teams. Together, they tell multi-generational, female-driven stories for TV and features and are producing a sitcom about their partnership. They also read and review YA and romance novels on their social media platforms, which have garnered over 40,000 followers. Kelly is a TV and feature writer with a knack for finding the funny, especially in life’s worst situations. She’s been lost in Mongolia, served as the youngest member of a Congressional campaign (back when that was fun), and talked her way into running a small marketing firm. She’s the only child of workaholic parents, and spent hours watching Mel Brooks, Laurel and Hardy, and Carol Burnett doing the thing she loved: making people laugh. Her hobbies include thinking of getting some hobbies, mentoring young writers, and obsessing over YA novels. Her goals are to write a sex comedy for Helen Mirren, learn to walk in high heels… and of course, world peace. Honors & Awards Imagine Impact x Netflix - Finalist - A.K.A. - 2021 StoryPros - Winner/Best Comedy Script - BEST LAID PLANS - 2020 Nashville Film Festival - Winner/Best Comedy Script - LIFE'S A BEAUT - 2019 non-WGA Female, 40+ A.K.A. Action comedy - GROSS POINTE BLANK meets SPY When her cover is blown, the CIA’s top operative trades in her high-stakes lifestyle to hide out in the one place she swore she’d never return…the antiquated New England island where she was born. Can she protect her eccentric, combative family or will she kill them herself? BEST LAID PLANS Dramedy - HACKS meets HOPE SPRINGS When her husband of 40 years dies, a repressed widow resolves to find out what she’s been missing. She risks her reputation and relationships with her co-dependent daughter and meddling BFF to help an irreverent young lesbian who’s trying to save Boston’s oldest sex shop. LIFE'S A BEAUT Dramedy - WE'RE THE MILLERS meets THE WAY WAY BACK A straitlaced young woman explores a crooked branch of her family tree when she teams up with a grifting grandma to track down a kidney donor for her rebellious younger sister. Character-driven, Female-centric, Queer, Coming-of-Age, Satire, Bittersweet, Silly, Snarky Female, 40+ unrepped
- Karol Ruth Silverstein | IWC List
< Back Karol Ruth Silverstein karol@karolruthsilverstein.com https://www.karolruthsilverstein.com/ Karol is an award-winning children’s book author and screenwriter. Her debut young adult novel, Cursed , was loosely drawn from her experience of being diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at thirteen. A funny, frank, and unsentimental take on the “sick kid” genre, Cursed won the prestigious Schneider Family Book Award in 2020. Karol’s feature dramedy screenplay YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND was developed in the Film Independent Screenwriter’s Lab and was a Writer’s Guild of American West Feature Writer’s Access Project honoree. She lives in West Hollywood with two excessively fluffy cats. Honors & Awards Schneider Family Book Awards - CURSED - 2020 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection - CURSED - 2019 Writers Guide of America West/Feature Writers Access Project - YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND - 2016 non-WGA Female, Disabled, Over 40, Over 55 YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND (Dramedy Feature) Pie (9), an overly dramatic crybaby and Beck (10), her budding lesbian sister, nearly break apart along with their divorcing parents in the summer of ‘75. RACE TO ROMANCE (Romantic Comedy Feature in the vein of THE PROPOSAL) Former lovers – and co-hosts of a fading reality show – must work together for the first time since a messy breakup during hiatus and try to save their show. CURSED (YA Novel, Charlesbridge Teen, 2019) Funny, frank and full of F-bombs, young teen Erica navigates being newly diagnosed with a painful chronic illness amid the normal tragedies of 9th grade. Character-driven, Female-centric, Romantic, Coming-of-Age, YA, Children's, Slapstick, Snarky Female, Disabled, Over 40, Over 55 unrepped
- Tonia Kempler | IWC List
< Back Tonia Kempler http://www.bellementertainment.com Coverfly Tonia Kempler is a multi-hyphenate, genre-agnostic filmmaker who lives in New York. Her focus is on projects with IP/multi-revenue stream potential. She specializes in world-building and character development. She develops comics, podcasts, unscripted & scripted TV, and features. She is currently in development with Radar Pictures on a horror feature . Her approach to storytelling and understanding audience engagement is fortified by a career in the Music Industry, including concert production and managing Grammy-Award-Winning producers, engineers, and songwriters. “No Scrubs” for TLC and “Survivor” for Destiny’s Child are among over 100 Billboard Chart Topping songs created by her previous clients. Tonia is a serial entrepreneur. She is the founder of Bellem Entertainment, Entangled Exposure Entertainment, The 9 Armadillos (Writer's Room), and The Old Orchard Film Festival. Tonia is a connector by nature. She is a member of The Vine Impact Global, Orchestrated Connecting, and The Renaissance Weekend. Over the course of her career, she has amassed an expansive network in both entertainment and finance. In 2024, Tonia began to altruistically connect impact-driven producers with financiers. She is actively helping A-List projects (only). Honors & Awards The Academy Nicholl Fellowship - Top 10% - THE OUTPOST - 2021 Emerging Screenwriters - Horror/Thriller Genre Winner, - THE OUTPOST - 2022 Oregon Short Film Festival - Best Drama - NOT YOUR FAMILY - 2022 non-WGA Female THE OUTPOST LGBTQ Coming-of-Age Thriller - STAND BY ME meets SUPER DARK TIMES Life quickly turns into chaos as two teen boys, struggling with their sexual identities, attempt to cover up an accidental murder, leading one to unravel a disturbing truth about the other. THE LEATHERFACE LADY Horror Feature - CREEP and T HE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT with a touch of PSYCHO . A young woman and her friends encounter the fabled Leatherface Lady, believed to slay hikers on the Appalachian Trail, only to discover the killer may, in fact, be the local urban legend’s grandson. GURCAN Action Feature inspired by true events - THE MARKSMAN and MAN ON FIRE meets the world of THE BRIDGE A federal agent pushed beyond his limits is forced to awaken his military past when his son gets kidnapped by a human trafficking organization within the government. Character-driven, Female-centric, Thriller, Psychological, Horror, Coming-of-Age, Dark, International Female repped
- Lynn Esta Goldman | IWC List
< Back Lynn Esta Goldman LynnEstaGoldman@gmail.com 415-902-6800 Coverfly Lynn Esta Goldman was born and raised in Miami and later escaped to San Francisco, where she worked as an artist and dancer, teaching ballroom and salsa, before becoming interested in film and screenwriting. Her life experiences range from teaching a hundred Chinese to salsa dance on a Shanghai riverboat to working on a Pediatric HIV ward. She was a finalist in the Nicholl Competition with two different screenplays, won a Gold Prize in the PAGE, and is a member of The Writers Lab sponsored by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Her screenplay, THE WAY YOU MOVE, is in development with producer Mitchell Peck . She writes dramas, thrillers and dramedies. Honors & Awards Nicholl Fellowship - Finalist - ANGEL ON THE WALL - 2015 Nicholl Fellowship - Finalist - ON THE WING - 2019 PAGE - Gold Prize - BUSTER AND TONY 2024 non-WGA Female, 55+ THE HALF-SISTERHOOD Science Fiction When an orphan runs her DNA, she learns that she has multiple half-sisters – all born the same day, all with the same unique green eye color, all with the same father whose DNA is not human, and all the key to averting a coming pandemic, if only they can outwit forces determined to destroy them first. BUSTER AND TONY Dramedy, Comps are "As Good as it Gets," "The Friend" When an ambitious attorney inherits her sister’s feisty little terrier, she must deal with the messiness of caring for an adorable mutt, juggling an even messier divorce, and overcoming the sexist boneheads at work if she’s ever going to recreate a sense of the family she’s lost. THE FIFTH PRISONER Espionage Action Thriller, The Night Manager/The Spy Who Came in From the Cold While tracking a high-level terrorist, a CIA agent uncovers a plot to overthrow the U.S. government and is forced to choose between saving his threatened family or stopping the conspirators behind the coup: his own countrymen. Character-driven, Female-centric, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Psychological, Dark, International, Magical Realism Female, 55+ unrepped
- Shana Holmes | IWC List
< Back Shana Holmes shanarhymeswithdana@gmail.com http://www.shanarhymeswithdana.com Coverfly Shana Holmes (no relationship to Sherlock) is a queer, neurodivergent writer working in VFX at Netflix. She was a Disney Writers Program Semifinalist and is a participant in Ryan Reynold’s Group Effort Initiative. Shana got her start in improv and sketch comedy and now writes half-hour comedies featuring unconventional women, intergenerational relationships, and queer identity. After fleeing the icy tundra of Minnesota and living all over the world–Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, and New York, to name a few–Shana is now happily settled in Los Angeles. She spends her free time gazing adoringly at her two cats, accidentally killing succulents, and getting scraped up at the climbing gym. Honors & Awards Disney Writers Program , Semifinalist - THE RENTED FRIEND - 2022 Austin Film Festival, Second Rounder,- SMUT AND MOTHBALLS - 2024 non-WGA Female, LGBTQ+ SMUT AND MOTHBALLS (1/2 hour comedy) Jane the Virgin meets Sex Lives of College Girls A prudish woman reluctantly reinvents herself as a steamy romance writer with the help of her grandmother and other retirees in Guanajuato, Mexico. Character-driven, Female-centric, Queer, Coming-of-Age, Bittersweet, Silly, Snarky, Magical Realism Female, LGBTQ+
- Teresa Sullivan | IWC List
< Back Teresa Sullivan teresasullivan307@gmail.com 703-980-1941 https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm5557614/?ref_=m_recent_view The Black List Born in Scotland and raised in New Jersey, Teresa, along with her four children, moved eighteen times as the military spouse of a two-star Admiral. Finally settling in the Santa Monica mountains they found themselves fleeing for their lives one hour ahead of the Woolsey Wildfire that turned their home and their every material possession into ash. But, starting over is baked into the military lifestyle and so Teresa is rebuilding her home and forging ahead with her screenwriting ambitions. Teresa’s got a secret weapon – a great sense of humor - has to - (did she mention four kids?). She’s got a black belt in Taekwondo, an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, and a Samuel Goldwyn Award for her drama pilot, DOUBLEBLIND. Teresa is a (jolly good) Telluride Fellow with an optioned comedy feature, STEWARDESS. She penned two adaptations, TEN HOURS UNTIL DAWN, based on the harrowing rescue at sea during the blizzard of ’78; and THE DODGER, the true story of the only person to earn both a Purple Heart in Vietnam and an MLB World Series Championship ring, Roy Gleason. She wrote on James Franco's anthology HEYDAY OF THE INSENSITIVE BASTARDS (Netflix) and has two produced shorts. Teresa’s nostalgic stage play, THE BEATLE CLUB, recently completed a successful three-week run in the D.C. area. She is currently creating and developing a character-driven, prestige-y, limited series, FAYE, about the surprisingly famous first host of Late-Night TV that you’ve never heard of – Faye Emerson. Honors & Awards Theatrical Production, Providence Players - THE BEATLE CLUB - 2021 Short Produced - LUCKY DAY - 2020 Best of the IWC award - "Faye" (pilot) 2024 non-WGA Female, Over 40, Over 55 STEWARDESS (Comedy Feature) 78-year-old DODIE is about to lose her family’s ranch when she wins her long-dormant lawsuit against Global Airlines for wrongful firing, allowing her to return to her beloved job as airline stewardess, now flight attendant, to complete her career, collect her pension and save her ranch - if she can pass the test! THE DODGER (Feature, Adaptation) The true story of Roy Gleason, a gifted athlete who achieves his dream of playing for the Dodgers. But it’s the turbulent ‘60s, and fate and the U.S. Army have other plans for him. FAYE (Limited Drama Series) 1940’s Hollywood actress Faye Emerson battles the restrictive norms corseting mid-century women to become the first host of Late Night TV. Character-driven, Female-centric, Romantic, Historical/Alternative History, Limited Series, Slapstick, Late Night Female, Over 40, Over 55 unrepped
- Leah Simmons | IWC List
< Back Leah Simmons lsimmons.johnstone@gmail.com (605) 359-4627 Coverfly ISA Leah is a genre writer from South Dakota specializing in horror and sci-fi that ranges from the deep exploration of humanity's darker nature to laugh out loud funny. Honors & Awards Omaha Film Festival - Feature Finalist - WEREWOLVES CAN SUCK IT! - 2024 Launch Pad Feature Script Contest - Top 100 - PRO LIFE - 2024 The Women's Lab - Quarterfinalist - GERMINATION - 2024 non-WGA Female, 40+ GERMINATION Horror Feature In the wake of a family tragedy, a fiercely independent woman reluctantly assumes guardianship of her pregnant teenage niece. But as the details of her sister's grisly death come to light, she discovers that the thing growing inside her niece is not only alien, but infectious. LAST LAUGH Contained Horror Feature A woman placed in a high-tech prison that allows users to tandem into their bodies for free rein must escape and exact revenue on the one person who's purchased every available session of her sentence: the man responsible for her sister's murder. THE LOCKSMITH Horror Feature After witnessing a grisly murder, a woman discovers she is the last of thirteen victims being stalked by a masked killer collecting the mysterious key each has surgically implanted inside their body. Character-driven, Female-centric, Queer, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Horror, Dark, Snarky Female, 40+ unrepped
- Anne Toole | IWC List
< Back Anne Toole thewritetoole@gmail.com https://writingiswriting.wordpress.com/ Writers Guild Award-winning writer Anne Toole has written for live-action series, games, animation, comics, and more. Her work currently appears in Netflix's DANIEL SPELLBOUND and the action-comedy series CANNON BUSTERS. Previously, she wrote for GHOST OF TSUSHIMA: DIRECTOR'S CUT and for WOMEN OF MARVEL #1 . She also wrote for DAYS OF OUR LIVES, contributed to the Emmy-winning short-form dramedy THE LIZZIE BENNET DIARIES, and created the hundred-episode dramedy ALLES LIEBE, ANNETTE for the German market. Anne's credits include THE WITCHER game, the HORIZON ZERO DAWN games and comics, and ASSASSIN'S CREED ORIGINS. She has spoken extensively on storytelling across platforms at South by Southwest and Comic-con International as well as in presentations at MIT, Harvard, and Cannes. A citizen of Ireland as well as the US, Anne holds a degree in Archaeology from Harvard. Honors & Awards Golden Joystick Award, Narrative - DAYS GONE - 2022 Writers Guild Award Winner - HORIZON ZERO DAWN - 2018 non-WGA Female UNMOVED MOVER (Period sci-fi short story) Professor Challenger enlists an old friend to find the source of a mysterious sound, while still reeling from the loss of his son in the Great War. WITNESSES (Legal procedural pilot) A disbarred attorney seeks redemption by assembling a team of expert witnesses, but his integrity immediately comes into question on their very first case. Queer, Crime, Procedural, Romantic, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical/Alternative History, Animation Female unrepped
- Lisa Kenner Grissom | IWC List
< Back Lisa Kenner Grissom lisa.kenner@gmail.com 310-770-8887 https://lisakennergrissom.com Coverfly The Black List Lisa is a Boston-born, LA-based award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and producer who writes comedic dramas and dramatic comedies. She is known for creating multi-layered characters, exploring the complexity of human emotions, and finding levity in discomfort. Lisa wrote and produced the multiple award-winning short film, TATTOO YOU, which has screened at 15+ film festivals nationally and internationally. Lisa is currently on a jag writing about female Jewish resistance fighters and is generally drawn to writing stories about fascinating, undiscovered, badass women, set either in the past or today. Her hour-long TV Pilot, FANIA IN THE FOREST, was a Top 5 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship Finalist, among other accolades. Additional TV and Film projects include FOLLOWING FANIA, a documentary in development, and the comedy feature, GROWN-UP BULLY. In the works is a feature adaptation of her award-winning, critically-acclaimed play, HERE COMES THE NIGHT. In addition to the IWC, Lisa is a proud member of The Dramatist Guild, Playwrights Union, and Reboot. Lisa is a graduate of Wesleyan University and received her MFA in Stage and Screen at Lesley University. When she’s not typing away, she’s probably walking on a beach, taking in some art, or listening to live music. Fun fact: Lisa played left wing for her Division 3 collegiate women’s ice hockey team. Honors & Awards Top 5 Finalist - ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship - FANIA IN THE FOREST - 2022 non-WGA Female, Over 40 FANIA IN THE FOREST (TV hour-long Drama - A SMALL LIGHT meets WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES ) When a rebellious 16 year-old Jewish girl narrowly escapes the Vilna ghetto for the forest to join a group of young resistance fighters intent on disrupting the Nazi war machine, her goal to find her scattered family will test the safety of the entire brigade. GROWN-UP BULLY (Comedy Feature) When Tammy, the bully who never grew up and never left her small town, learns that her teenage daughter is being bullied, she embarks on a mission to seek forgiveness from her high school target, redeem herself as a mom, and grow up—even if it means finally leaving her hometown to do it. Character-driven, Female-centric, Historical/Alternative History, Coming-of-Age, Limited Series, Bittersweet, Snarky, Naturalistic Female, Over 40 unrepped











