The Writers Guild Foundation has launched the WGF Veterans Fellowship, an 8-week mentorship program that provides educational resources, professional guidance, and career-building opportunities for alumni of the Foundation’s flagship program, the Veterans Writing Project.
Six veterans have been selected to participate in the inaugural 2024 class: Brian McDevitt, Jr., Cathy Torres, Kadyn Michaels, Nicole Schwegman, Rylan Tuohy, and Tracy Thompson. Each fellow will be paired with a showrunner mentor, who will provide valuable feedback on their scripts and unique insights into the business of writing. This year’s mentors include Bill Wrubel (Ted Lasso), Desmond Moran (Tiny Beautiful Things), Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol), Joy Kecken (Genius: MLK/X), Linda Gase (Dr. Death), and Maria Ferrari (Call Me Kat).
The 2024 Veterans Fellows with Core Instructor Eli Edelson. From left: Kadyn Michaels, Edelson, Nicole Schwegman, Tracy Thompson, Brian McDevitt, Jr., Cathy Torres, and Rylan Tuohy.
Along with one-on-one mentorship, fellows will attend workshops led by Core Instructor writer/producer Eli Edelson (Motherland: Fort Salem), events with guest speakers from every corner of the industry, as well as networking opportunities with industry professionals who have the potential to hire them. By the end of the course, fellows will have multiple polished samples, a refined self-pitch, hands-on experience in simulated writers’ rooms, a nuanced understanding of support roles and writers’ room etiquette, and more.
“I’m so excited for the Fellowship to continue the important work of the Veterans Writing Project. These writers have incredible and important stories to tell, and their mentors will help open the doors of the industry to them,” says Edelson.
Since its establishment in 2010, the Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project's yearlong mentorship program has taught U.S. military veterans the craft of screenwriting and essential industry professional practices. Today, it is one of the strongest writing programs of its kind. However, the drastic changes in the industry have made breaking in as a professional screenwriter more complex and challenging.
“This program was established in response to the increasing number of barriers preventing emerging writers from gaining a foothold in the entertainment industry,” says WGF Director of Community Programs Kira VandenBrande. “We aim to better equip Veterans Writing Project alumni with the education and access to gain a foothold in the industry and, ultimately, forge sustainable careers as writers.”
For more information on the Veterans Fellowship and each individual fellow, check out the program page.