The Writers Guild Foundation teams up with Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting for a conversation about writing bold and complex young women authentically. We’ll explore how writers develop these strong characters, how to approach sensitive scenes intentionally, and how they navigate nuances of character personalities, behaviors, and motivations.
Panelists include:
Karen Joseph Adcock - Yellowjackets
Beth Appel - The Sex Lives of College Girls
Sahar Jahani - Life and Beth
Autumn Joy Jimerson - Forever
Moderated by Dr. Rosanne Welch, Executive Director, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting.
Doors open at 6:30PM PT. Event starts at 7PM PT. Attendees have the option to join us in person at the WGAW HQ or through our Zoom livestream.
Take advantage of early bird ticket pricing through Monday, July 21st! Prices will increase to $20 for GA and $10 for WGA/students/military on Tuesday, July 22. All proceeds go towards producing future panels and events.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at events@wgfoundation.org.
In Partnership With
About the Panelists
Karen Joseph Adcock is a drama comedy writer who’s not like other Karens— she’s black! Karen has a BA in film studies from Columbia University and an MFA in TV Writing and Producing from Loyola Marymount University. Her most recent credits include an upcoming Amazon Prime series created by and starring Riz Ahmed; FX’s The Bear, Showtimes' Yellowjackets and Prime's Swarm. Her past work includes Atlanta, How I Met Your Father and an unforgettable assistant stint on BoJack Horseman, Undone and Tuca & Bertie. Karen writes about broken people doing the best they can and laughing along the way— what’s the saying? “Write what you know…”
Beth Appel's most recent writing credits include The Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever. Previous writing work includes: Comedy Bang! Bang!, Ty Burrell’s ABC Digital series Boondoggle, and several projects for Comedy Central. In addition to performing regularly in Asssscat at UCB, she also acts from time to time and has appeared in lots of commercials, television shows and movies, including Never Have I Ever, You, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Adam Ruins Everything, and Greener Grass.
Sahar Jahani is a first generation Iranian-American writer/director raised in Los Angeles. She worked in scripted development at YouTube Originals before transitioning to the writers room on the Emmy-nominated Hulu series, RAMY, where she wrote her first episode of television and won a Peabody, along with the other writers, for their work on the first season. Since then, Sahar has written on several shows including the acclaimed series 13 REASONS WHY, THE BOLD TYPE, ECHOES, and was most recently a consulting producer on Amy Schumer's LIFE AND BETH on Hulu. On the film side, Sahar adapted Uzma Jalaluddin's first novel, AYESHA AT LAST, for Pascal Pictures and is currently adapting a YOU'VE GOT MAIL inspired story for Amazon Studios and Executive Producer Mindy Kaling. Sahar has also developed her own series of shows at HBO Max, Netflix and just developed a half hour YA comedy at Amazon with A24 and Ramy Youssef's Cairo Cowboy. In addition to all of her film and TV work, Sahar’s writing has been featured in The New York Times' Modern Love column and she is currently writing her first YA novel for Macmillan publishing.
Autumn Joy Jimerson is a drama and dramedy writer that gravitates towards stories involving family dynamics; in the families we are born into, the ones we inadvertently find ourselves in, and the ones we intentionally create. Having been raised in a mixed race household, and with her background as a licensed psychotherapist with a specialization in Family Therapy, Autumn's creative work leans into the complexity, heartache, and humor that comes with everyday life. Coupled with her own personal travels and versatile work history, she has first-hand experience with people from all walks of life. Prior to venturing into psychotherapy, Autumn obtained her BA in TV & Film Production from Howard University. She is currently working as Story Editor on the Netflix adaptation of Judy Blume's FOREVER. Previously, she worked as Staff Writer on the Apple TV+ series SWAGGER, Writers' Assistant on the Apple TV+ series SHRINKING, and Showrunner's Assistant/Co-Writer on the OWN series QUEEN SUGAR.
About the Moderator
Rosanne Welch, Phd, serves as Executive Director of Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting where she created a set of History of Screenwriting courses. Her television writing credits include Beverly Hills 90210, Picket Fences, ABCNEWS: Nightline and Touched by an Angel. Welch edited When Women Wrote Hollywood (2018), named runner up for the Susan Koppelman Award honoring the best anthology, multi-authored, or edited book in feminist studies by the Popular Culture Association. She co-edited Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia (named to both the 2018 Outstanding References Sources List and to the list of Best Historical Materials, by the American Library Association); co-wrote American Women’s History on Film (2023) and wrote Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Popular Culture(2016) and American Women’s History on Film (20230. Welch serves as Book Reviews editor for Journal of Screenwriting; and on the Editorial Board for the California History Journal. In 2022 she was elected to Chair the Executive Committee of the International Screenwriting Research Network for two-year term. You can find her talk “The Importance of Having a Female Voice in the Room” from the TEDxCPP here and other recorded lectures on her YouTube channel here.