Writers With Booze

Buy a ticket for $3 AT THIS LINK or you will NOT be RSVP'd:
https://writingpad.com/classes/fellowship-staff-program-panel-5

Panelists: Grace Moss (Warner Bros.), Liz Kelly (Disney), Moira Griffin (Fox), Michael Svoboda (Hillman Grad), Daniel Plagens (Humanitas)

Breaking in as a screenwriter is hard. Fortunately, a record number of writing fellowships/staffing programs offer newbie scribes access to the big leagues through writing programs that serve as a writing staffing pools for their studio’s TV Shows and films. We’ve brought in the gatekeepers of some of the most prestigious programs: Disney, Fox and Hillman Grad to give you the skinny. Join us for a Q & A on application do's and don'ts and how to make your packet stand out from the crowd.

Join our TV CERTIFICATE PROGRAM to network w/ gatekeepers.

About Our Panelists:
Grace Moss is the Vice President of Inclusion Pipeline Programs for Warner Bros. Discovery. In this role, she helps oversee the enterprise’s efforts to expand the pool of talent and break down barriers so they have access to creative careers within WBD. Prior to Warner Bros. Discovery, Grace served as the Head of Talent Development and Inclusion for NBC Entertainment, where she spearheaded multiple programs that focused on cultivating and showcasing talented writers and directors of diverse backgrounds. Before coming to NBC, Grace was a Development Executive at the Style Network, and prior to that a freelance reality Producer and Director on a plethora of unscripted shows on a variety of networks, including MTV, VH1, TLC and NBC. Her leadership training includes the Johnson and Johnson Corporate Athlete Training Program, Comcast’s Know Your Value initiative and Harvard Business School’s Leadership Consortium. Grace graduated from UCLA with a BA English and Minor in Asian American Studies.

Liz Kelly is Director of Creative Talent Development and Inclusion at Disney Entertainment Television. In this role, she works with the network and studio to staff writers and directors across ABC, ABC Signature, Freeform, Disney Channel, 20th TV, FX, Nat Geo, Disney+ and Hulu’s scripted television shows. She runs the industry-leading Disney Writing Program and Disney Directing Program. She has staffed talent on THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE ROOKIE, A MILLION LITTLE THINGS, DAVE, HOW I MET YOUR FATHER, SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE, THE GOLDBERGS, STATION 19, RAVEN’S HOME, and BLACK-ISH, among other scripted series. Prior to Disney, Kelly worked for 6 years at Fox, most recently as Associate Director of Production and Development Labs – Film and TV, for 21CF Global Inclusion. She managed the Fox Writers Lab, Fox Directors Lab, Fox DP Lab, and Fox Filmmakers Lab. Kelly has been a judge, script reader, or panelist for numerous film and TV festivals across the country, including the Tribeca Film Festival, New York Television Festival, Austin Film Festival, ATX Television Festival, Humanitas New Voices, and more. In 2017, she was invited to be part of CAA’s “Amplify: Next Gen” group of up-and- coming entertainment artists, agents, and executives.

Moira Griffin is a producer and strategist based in Los Angeles for New Bumper and Paint Productions in partnership with writer/director Marshall Tyler. Moira oversees the Fox Writers Incubator. Previously, Moira was the Executive Director of Production & Creative Labs for 21st Century Fox and the Head of Diversity Initiatives at the Sundance Institute. She also created the Ethiopian Film Initiative for the IEFTA, a program that has expanded throughout the MENA region and is a founder of the acclaimed Rooftop Films series in New York City. Moira is a Film Independent Alum and Blackhouse Producing Fellow. Her recent award-winning projects include Slow Pulse (CBS/BET), Cap (HBO), Night Shift (Sundance) Exec Produced by Viola Davis & Julius Tennon (Juvee Productions), and Landline (HULU). Her projects have premiered at festivals including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, ABFF, and the Tribeca Film Festival. NBP is currently developing projects across all genres including the documentary, The Prince of Seventh Avenue: The Legend of WilliWear/Willi Smith (Vogue Studios/Conde Nast) and the narrative film Fever Dream. In addition, she is producing the PBS documentary The Inquisitor about the life of Barbara Jordan directed by Angela Tucker, through her company Alice’s Plan.

Michael Svoboda has been the director of the writing track for Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab since its inception in 2020. The Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab provides opportunities for marginalized storytellers to connect, grow, and accelerate their career in television. Michael has also worked various positions on TV shows while making his way to Staff Writer. He's made numerous short films and developed television shows with major production companies. He is a proud member of the WGA. He has also been teaching screenwriting at the University of Nebraska since 2018.

As Humanitas’s Program Manager, Daniel oversees the Humanitas Prizes, New Voices Fellowship, College Screenwriting Awards, and the Groceries for Writers project while also handling other day-to-day administrative matters. He came to Humanitas after working for several years in the unscripted television and documentary worlds, and is a writer himself. He was recently a semifinalist for Filmmatic's Inroads Fellowship, and he was named to the University of Michigan Entertainment Coalition’s Blue List in 2020, a compilation of the school’s up-and-coming screenwriting alumni.