The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) has revealed the 12 successful applicants for its NSW First Break program, with a panel selecting the participants from more than 200 entries.
Delivered with support from Screen NSW and Final Draft, the three-day initiative consists of online workshops that cover note-taking, script coordinating, and the basics of a writers’ room.
The cohort set to take part comprises Abhishek Gurjar, Adam Daniel, Erik Magnusson, Grace Chapple, Jennifer van Gessel, Katie Pollock, Melody Chen, Olivia Costa, Patrick Taylor, Simone La Martina, Tsu Shan Chambers, and Zaity Salman.
Following their successful completion of the three workshops, each writer will be added to the Pathways website on the new First Break tab.
They will then be promoted to the industry using the AWG’s multiple databases, including 9,700 subscribers to the AWG newsletter; more than 500 registered users of the Pathways portal, such as producers, directors, writers, and industry professionals; and the 1,000 subscribers to the Pathways Newsletter.
The Pathways First Break tab will be a permanent resource for industry members looking for talented new writers who have valuable skills to offer in writers’ rooms.
In a statement, facilitators Chris Corbett and Catherine Kelleher said they were pleased to have the opportunity to “show these talented creatives the ropes”.
“The film and TV industry is notoriously hard to break into, but note-taking and script coordinating provide an incredible training ground and the chance to develop important industry relationships in scripted television,” they said.
The guild hopes to roll the program out across Australia over the next year.
“We were overwhelmed by the calibre of entries for this inaugural First Break program,” AWG professional development manager Susie Hamilton said.
“From our extensive conversations with the industry, we knew that there was a need for this type of training.
“The response to First Break has left us with no doubt that emerging writers recognise the enormous value of the initiative. We look forward to rolling out similar opportunities in other states over the next 12 months.”
The workshops for the program will commence next month.