Harvardwood Writers Competition Unveils Winners, Most Staffable TV Writers List

The Harvardwood Writers Competition announced the winners of this year’s competition as well as those who made the Most Staffable TV Writers List. The winning writers will be mentored by A-list TV and film professionals including Dr. Neal Baer, Colleen McGuinness, and Jeff Schaffer.

The writers’ work will also be read by some of the industry’s top producers and will be considered for representation at established talent agencies and management companies. Each writer will receive a one-on-one mentorship while competition winners will score a handsome cash prize.

The winners of the Harvardwood Writers Competition in each category are:

• TV Comedy Winner: Katie O’Hanlon – Branching Out (Half-Hour Comedy)
• TV Drama Winner: Alison McKenzie – Dirty Business (One-Hour Drama)
• Shorts Winner (tied): Myles McDonagh – Bardo (Animated Short)
• Shorts Winner (tied): Justin Monticello – City of Angels (Sketch Comedy)

The Most Staffable TV Writers selected from Havardwood Writers Program were Eric Lu for Red Market (One-Hour Drama) and Joey Siara forYorba Linda Hardcore (One-Hour Drama).

In addition, McKenzie and Lu were eligible for network diversity programs.

This year’s mentors include:

• Neal Baer – Writer, Producer, & Showrunner (Under the Dome, ER, Law & Order: SVU)
• Peter Blake – Writer & Producer (Gotham, Billions, Elementary, House)
• Melinda Hsu Taylor – Writer & Executive Producer (The Gifted, The Vampire Diaries)
• Chip Johannessen – Writer & Executive Producer (Homeland, Dexter, 24)
• Colleen McGuinness – Writer & Producer (30 Rock, Untitled Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen show)
• Jeff Melvoin – Writer, Producer, & Showrunner (Alias, Army Wives, Designated Survivor), Educator (WGA Showrunner Training Program)
• Adam R. Perlman – Writer & Producer (Billions, The Good Wife, The Newsroom)
• Jeff Schaffer – Writer, Producer, & Showrunner (The League, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld)

Participants in the Harvardwood Writers Program and Competition have landed pilot sales with ABC, the CW, Showtime, Sony, Spike, Syfy, and TV Land, in addition to blind script deals at ABC Studios and Warner Bros. Harvardwood writers have also been staffed in numerous shows including How To Get Away With Murder, Jane the Virgin, Power, Billions, The Flash, Future Man, Gotham, and more. They have also received representation at CAA, ICM, Gersh, WME, UTA, Brillstein, and others.