If you're a screenwriter at just about any stage of your career, you should have the ScreenCraft Writers Summit on your calendar. The professional networking and instructional event will return to Atlanta from April 5th – 8th at the historic Georgian Terrace Hotel. The Summit, which sold out in its inaugural year of 2018, brings unparalleled screenwriting expertise to content creators in Atlanta, to support and empower the flourishing creative community that's seen such big-screen productions as Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, and TV productions like Atlanta, Boomerang, Black Lightning, Legacies, and many more.

Award-winning screenwriters, development executives, TV showrunners, literary managers and agents are set to convene for the three-day event covering the craft and business of the foundational art form that powers the entertainment industry: screenwriting. The weekend will feature workshops, panels, cocktail parties, mentorship opportunities and pitch events. Tickets are now available at  https://screencraft.org/atlanta/#checkout, and if you're interested, you'd better act quickly. Folks who want to register for the event's Pitch Competition need to have their badges reserved by March 22nd, and there were only a handful of Elite Badges (which grant access to small group mentor sessions) left when last we checked.

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Emily Dell, Executive Director of ScreenCraft Writers Summit, had this to say in an earlier press release:

“As the most dynamic film and television production hub in the nation, Atlanta shows us the future of creative industries, and is the ideal place for screenwriters both nationwide and worldwide to converge. Getting outside of New York and Los Angeles encourages fresh voices and enables authentic partnerships to be forged. Our goal is to build community, advance careers and elevate the craft of screenwriting, together.”

In our own chat with Dell, we learned a bit more about the upcoming event and its aim to deliver an intimate opportunity for emerging writers at all levels to see how the business of screenwriting really works. Limited to around 450 attendees, the level of accessibility is second to none, giving writers, agents, and executives a chance to mix and mingle while sharing in original ideas and providing resources to get those ideas realized on the big or small screen. The first Summit was so successful that not only did some lucky, hard-working attendees find representation, but many of them are set to attend the event again this year along with returning panelists and special guests, including many from out of state and outside the U.S.

I'll be attending the Summit early this April, thanks to ScreenCraft, and will be reporting back on the event to bring an insider's perspective to those of you who can't make it this year. You can check out the full schedule of events and special guests here, but a look at just some of the panelists appearing throughout the event can be found below:

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    Image via The CW
    Doug Jung (Star Trek Beyond, Big Love, The Cloverfield Paradox)
  • Darrien Gipson (National Director, SAGindie)
  • Ben Cory Jones (Boomerang, Insecure, Underground)
  • David Rabinowitz (Oscar Winner, BlacKkKlansman)
  • Chad Kennedy (VP Current Programming, Warner Bros. Television)
  • Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard, Commando)
  • Stefany Folsom (Toy Story 4)
  • Julie Plec (EP/Showrunner The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Roswell: New Mexico)
  • Keya Khayatian, Partner & Literary Agent, United Talent Agency
  • Hannah Ozer, Literary Manager, Kaplan/Perrone
  • Justin Littman, Literary Manager, The Gotham Group
  • Meg LeFauve (Oscar Nominee, Inside Out, Captain Marvel)
  • Jonathan Wu (Director of Production at 20th Century Fox)
  • Scott Carr - Literary Manager, Management SGC (Represents writers of Miss Sloane, 13 Reasons Why, Marvel’s Runaways)
  • Gabrielle Neimand - Vice-President Scripted Programming, Fremantle (The New Pope, American Gods, American Idol)

As for ScreenCraft, the organization is a boutique consultancy specializing in insider access to development executives at the best production companies and studios, with a community of 60,000 screenwriters. Their mission is to foster the careers of emerging writers and filmmakers by providing inspiration and insight into the craft of screenwriting and the business of Hollywood, by connecting emerging talent with working industry professionals. ScreenCraft will also be making an appearance at this year's Series Fest in Denver, CO; and the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, OR this summer.

The ScreenCraft team has secured script sales, option agreements, meetings, writing assignments and representation for clients at top companies including Netflix, CBS, CAA, WME, Paradigm, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, 3 Arts Entertainment, The Sundance Institute, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Heretic Literary Management, Conspiracy Media, Kopelson Entertainment, and Buffalo 8 Productions.

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