31
Posted by Lucy C. Cruell
https://www.youtube.com/user/31webseries?feature=mhum#p/u/0/a8RoIGrrqi0
The first daily Internet Horror Serial has been written and directed by a Harvard alum! "31" is a supernatural thriller launching 3/31 at 3:31pm ET. 31 episodes. 31 seconds. 31 days. Check out the Teaser, like, follow, forward, what have you!
Read moreHonest Man: the Life of R. Budd Dwyer
Posted by Matthew Levie
http://www.youtube.com/v/le7nRQIC9MU?fs=1&hl=en_US
This is the trailer for "Honest Man," a feature documentary film that I produced and edited about Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer. Dwyer was convicted of bribery and killed himself on television the day before his sentencing.
Read moreWriters' Resources
General
Books on Writing
Blogs, Videos, & Podcasts
Harvardwood Videos
Links to Other Resources
Features
Books on Screenwriting
Programs and Competitions
Television
Books on TV Writing
Loglines
Industry Standards
TV Spec Writing
Pitching
TV Series Bibles
Competitions & Festivals
Diversity Fellowships & Writers' Programs
Browse all book recommendations in our Amazon store below!
General
Books on Writing
- The Artist's Way* by Julia Camon
- The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
- The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
- The Now Habit* by Neil A. Fiore
- Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Writing from the Inside Out* by Dennis Palumbo
- The War of Art* by Steven Pressfield
- Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story by Jerry Weissman
Plus a Harvardwood special—book recommendations for writers/directors offered by Paris Barclay !
*Particularly helpful for writer's block and/or procrastination
Purchasing these books on Amazon? Shop AmazonSmile to support Harvardwood!
Blogs, Videos, & Podcasts
- BBC Writers Room Interviews
- Creative Screenwriting (magazine) - Editor Jeff Goldsmith conducts carefully researched and thoughtful interviews with some of today's top Feature and TV writers in front of a live audience.
- Go Into the Story by Scott Myers, official screenwriting blog of The Black List
- On Story - by the Austin Film Festival
- Podcasts by Jen Grisanti Consultancy, Inc. - An outstanding series of interviews with today's working writers. Jen uses her experience as a TV exec and her in-depth knowledge of the industry to ask insightful questions that really bring out the best in her guests.
- Scriptnotes - John August and Craig Mazin discuss screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters, everything from the craft to the business to the best ways to actually get yourself writing.
- WordPlay - Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio's blog, a great series of articles on writing and the industry.
Harvardwood Videos*
Links to Other Resources
- BBC Writer's Lab
- The Black List (founded by Franklin Leonard AB '00)
- Writers Guild of America Resources
- UCB's LA Diversity Program
Features
Books on Screenwriting
- How to Make It in Hollywood by Linda Buzzell
- Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood & Screenwriting by William Goldman
- Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach by Paul Gulino (see Paul's Harvardwood lecture)
- Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business by David Mamet
- Good in a Room: How to Sell Yourself (and Your Ideas) and Win Over Any Audience by Stephanie Palmer
Purchasing these books on Amazon? Shop AmazonSmile to support Harvardwood!
Programs and Competitions
- Academy Nicholl Fellowship
- Austin Film Festival
- Film Independent Screenwriting Lab
- Final Draft Big Break Contest
- Harvardwood Writers Competition
- Slamdance Screenplay Competition
- Sundance Screenwriters Lab
- Universal Pictures' Emerging Writers Fellowship
- The Guide to Screenwriting Contests
Screenplays
Television
Books on TV Writing
- Desperate Networks by Bill Carter
- Writing the Television Drama Series by Pam Douglas
- Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writer's Guide to the TV Business by Chad Gervich
- The Hidden Tools of Comedy by Steve Kaplan
- Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger
- Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV by Joe Toplyn AB '75, MBA '79
- Writing for Episodic Television: From Freelance to Showrunner edited by John Wirth and Jeff Melvoin AB '75
Purchasing these books on Amazon? Shop AmazonSmile to support Harvardwood!
Loglines
- How to Write a Logline by Christopher Lockhart - "I WROTE A 120 PAGE SCRIPT BUT CAN’T WRITE A LOGLINE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A LOGLINE"
- Writing the TV Spec & Pilot Scripts by Jen Grisanti - How can you write a memorable spec script that helps get you staffed? Why is it so hard to write a TV pilot script that not only gets you noticed, but could sell?
Industry Standards
- WGA Writer & Producer levels / titles
- In order of seniority:
- Executive producer / Showrunner
- Co-executive producer
- Supervising producer
- Coordinating producer (for reality / documentary)
- Producer
- Co-producer
- Consulting producer
- Associate producer (for reality / documentary)
- Segment producer (for reality / documentary)
- Executive Story Editor
- Story Editor
- Staff Writer
- Freelance
TV Spec Writing
- What's Hot & What's Not: Drama 2014 & Comedy 2014
Pitching
- "How to Survive Pilot Season" - The Hollywood Reporter
- Tips from the HWP—TV Modules Program
TV Series Bibles (PDF Downloads)
Competitions & Festivals
Diversity Fellowships & Writers' Programs
- CBS Diversity Institute & Writers Mentoring Program
- Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment New Writers Fellowship
- Disney | ABC Writing Program
- NALIP Diverse Women in Media Initiative
- National Hispanic Media Coalition TV Writers Program
- NBC Writers on the Verge
- Nickelodeon Writing Program
- Slamdance Screenplay Competition
- Sundance Episode Storytelling Lab
- Sundance Institute | YouTube New Voices Lab
- WB Writers' Workshop
- WhoHaHa TV
View The Black List's Writers Calendar for competition & festival deadlines.
Harvardwood Writers Program
Launched in 2005, the Harvardwood Writers Program (HWP) offers ongoing workshops for film and television writers in LA, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and more. HWP groups meet regularly to discuss and critique original material and to hear from experienced guest speakers in different fields (see here for a list of previous speakers).
Below, you'll find more information about the TV Writing Modules, Feature Writing Program, and our annual Writers Competition.
In recent years, participants in the Harvardwood Writers Program and Competition have seen unprecedented success with pilot sales to ABC, the CW, Showtime, Sony, Spike, Syfy, and TV Land, in addition to blind script deals at ABC and Warner Bros. Harvardwood writers have been staffed on Agent Carter (ABC), American Dad (Fox), Community (NBC), Covert Affairs (USA), Family Guy (FOX), The Flash (CW), The Good Wife (CBS), Gotham (Fox), How to Get Away with Murder (ABC), Jane the Virgin (CW), Justified (FX), The Newsroom (HBO), Perception (TNT), Sleepy Hollow (Fox), State of Affairs (NBC), and The Tomorrow People (CW). Among our feature film writers, successes include the theatrical releases of Jamesy Boy and Unfriended, as well as OddLot Entertainment’s optioning of Septillion to One; previous HWC feature category winner Capture is in post production with Circle of Confusion producing. Participants have also secured representation at Apostle, Benderspink, Brant Rose Agency, CAA, Circle of Confusion, Echo Lake, Gersh, ICM, Management 360, Original Artists, WME, and others.
Harvardwood is especially proud that our programs are dramatically more diverse in terms of race and gender than the current entertainment landscape, according to the stats in the “2015 Hollywood Diversity Report” conducted by UCLA’s Bunche Center. Please consider donating to the Harvardwood Writers Program, so we can continue to support new, thoughtful and diverse voices in the arts.
Finally—writers, want to connect with one another? Join the Harvardwood Writers' Directory.
Special Competitions
Harvardwood Writers Competition
Held every summer and open to all Harvardwood members worldwide. Each winner receives a cash prize and a one-on-one mentorship with an industry VIP. View past HWC winners!
Most Staffable TV Writers List
Held in conjunction with the Harvardwood Writers Competition and open to participants of the HWP - TV Modules program from the previous fall and spring. View past writers who made the Most Staffable list!
TV & Features Showcases [on hiatus]
Held in late spring and open to members who have completed the HWP Features or TV Modules program the previous fall.
Current Writing Modules
Los Angeles
- FEATURE SCREENWRITING - Contact: Nick Baker
- TV WRITING - Contact: Joey Siara and Todd Bartels
- ACTORS READING WRITERS GROUP
New York
- FEATURE SCREENWRITING - Fall 2021 - Apply Here!
- TV WRITING - [on hiatus]
Boston
- FEATURE SCREENWRITING - Contact: Sarah Zeiser & Heather Faris
PLEASE NOTE: Only Full Members and registered Friends of Harvardwood (on a case-by-case basis) can submit their finished work to the Harvardwood Script Menu and for consideration in the Harvardwood Writers' Showcases each Spring. If you are an Affiliate and wish to upgrade to Full Member status, please click here. If you are new to Harvardwood and wish to join, please register as a Full Member, Affiliate, or Friend of Harvardwood.
As a Full Member, you'll be able to receive the weekly and monthly newsletters, make unlimited postings on the website, view postings in your area(s) of interest, access all other areas of the Harvardwood website, and receive preferred access and free or discounted admission to programs and events.
Previous HWP Speakers
FILM
- Meredith Bagby ’95 (exec, Dreamworks)
- Stacy Cohen ’89 (producer, DREAMER)
- Alex Franklin ’96 (exec, The Weinstein Co)
- Sean O’Keefe ’95 (KING TUT)
- Keir Pearson ’89 (HOTEL RWANDA)
- Peter Rader ’82 (WATERWORLD)
- Jeff Schaffer ’91 (EUROTRIP)
- Josh Simon ’00 (exec, Disney)
- Massy Tadjedin ‘99 (THE JACKET)
- Nicky Weinstock '91 (Red Hour Films)
- Ed Zwick '74 (GLORY, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, THE LAST SAMURAI, BLOOD DIAMOND)
TV DRAMA
- Zadoc Angell (Manager, Echo Lake)
- Neal Baer GSE ’79 (LAW & ORDER: SVU)
- Samuel D. Baum '98 (LIE TO ME, COCKED)
- Peter Blake ’91 (HOUSE)
- Terence Carter (Exec, Fox)
- Carlton Cuse ’81 (LOST)
- Jeff Davis (CRIMINAL MINDS, TEEN WOLF)
- Dawn DeNoon (LAW & ORDER: SVU)
- Grainne Godfree '03 (THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW)
- Mark Goffmann (THE BEAST, WEST WING, SLEEPY HOLLOW)
- Abram Hatch ’96 (exec, Darren Star Prods.)
- Melinda Hsu Taylor (LOST)
- Glenn Kessler ‘92 (RHD/LA)
- Todd A. Kessler ’94 (THE SOPRANOS, PROVIDENCE)
- Jeff Melvoin (EP, ARMY WIVES)
- Adam Perlman '04 (BILLIONS, THE GOOD WIFE, THE NEWSROOM)
- Amy Retzinger ’95 (agent, Gersh)
- Sam Shaw '99 (MANHATTAN)
- Tom Smuts (CLOSE TO HOME)
- Thania St. John (EUREKA)
- Sarah Watson (PARENTHOOD)
- Nicky Weinstock (exec, Apatow, Fox)
TV COMEDY
- Andy Cadiff '77 (Director, Hot in Cleveland, Spin City, Young & Hungry)
- Megan Amram '10 (Writer, Parks & Rec, Silicon Valley)
- Nell Scovell '82 (Writer & Creator/Executive Producer, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Muppets Show)
- Kristin Newman (Writer & Executive Producer, That '70s Show, How I Met Your Mother)
- Colleen McGuinness '99 (Writer & Producer, About a Boy, 30 Rock)
- Carolyn Cassidy ’99 (exec, NBC)
- Vali Chandrasekaran ’03 (MY NAME IS EARL)
- Danny Chun ’03 (THE SIMPSONS, THE OFFICE)
- Jason Gelles ’96 (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND)
- Aisha Muharrar '06 (PARKS & REC)
- Dan O’Keefe ’90 (THE DREW CAREY SHOW, SEINFELD)
- Mike Reiss ’81 (THE SIMPSONS)
- Patric Verrone '81 (FUTURAMA, Former President of WGA West)
- Matt Warburton ’02 (THE SIMPSONS)
- Adam Fratto (Harvardwood Board)
- Cort Cass (ABC Comedy)
- David Garrett (LIVING WITH FRAN)
- Steve Tompkins '88 (THE SIMPSONS, THE CRITIC, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND)
- Harris Goldberg (NUMB)
- Allen Zipper (FAMILY TOOLS, GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW)