WGAW September 2021 Calendar

Here’s what going on, socially and professionally,  at the Writers Guild of America West this month:

September 2021

Until further notice, the Guild has suspended in-person committee meetings and events, member meetings, and screenings at the Writers Guild Theater. Virtual events are listed below. Members must RSVP in advance to receive access info to participate in online events.

Unless otherwise stated within the event, committee activities and events are open to WGAW Current, Post Current, Associate, and Associate Caucus members in Active status. If you have questions about your member status, please contact the Membership Department or call (323) 782-4532

To see the live calendar, click here. (Member Login required for that, sorry.)

Events listed are current at time of publication. Dates and details are subject to change during the month.


Wednesday 01
Career Longevity Committee Meeting
7-9 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity Committee Meetings
RSVP: CLC 09-2021. The mission of the Career Longevity Committee is to advocate for writers of all ages to obtain equal access to the job market with equal opportunity for sustained professional growth.

Wednesday 08
Making Love with Barry Sandler
6:30-8:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity
RSVP: BSandler 09-2021. How would we be “making love” on screen today without Barry Sandler’s iconic Making Love, the first gay Hollywood studio movie, released in 1982? This pioneering screenwriter broke down barriers and paved the way for us all. Could or would a studio back such a bold film today? How has the LGBTQ+ landscape — in the industry and in public — changed? Join screenwriter Donald Martin (Queen Bees) as he moderates the WGA Salon “Making Love with Barry Sandler,” with the legendary Barry Sandler himself.

Thursday 09
Understanding Your Screen Contract Panel Discussion
6 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Member Organizing
Registration: ScreenContract. Please join WGAW Mentor and Screenwriter Allison Schroeder (Hidden Figures), and WGAW staff members Josh Wiser (Senior Contracts Counsel) and Brad Schleder (Contracts Counsel), for a virtual panel on understanding your feature contract. Topics include: the right questions to ask when negotiating your contract, significant MBA protections, how to negotiate additional terms to get the best deal possible, and more.

Thursday 09
Writers Education Committee Meeting
6-7:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Writers Ed
RSVP: WEC. This WGAW Committee brainstorms and develops events and programs, which provide WGA members with practical, inside knowledge about how the industry works and how it is changing, emphasizing tips and tools to help writers succeed. We strive to provide working knowledge for writers and invite you to contribute your ideas.

Tuesday 14
By the Book: Screenwriters Who Turn to Novel Writing – And Why
6-7:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Writers Ed
RSVP: BOOK. From F. Scott Fitzgerald to Gillian Flynn, successful authors have long found their way into writing films and TV, sometimes for economic survival, other times for creative opportunity. But what about screenwriters who decide to switch gears and write a novel? What are the advantages in these IP-centric days in TV and film production? Join a panel of film and TV writers who have recently written published novels. as well as studio execs and agents with a focus on IP-based projects, and hear them make their case for the world of books. Panelists: Jenny Lee, TV writer (Boomerang) / novelist (Anna K Away); Ken Pisani, screenwriter/novelist (AMP’D); Susan Walter, screenwriter (All I Wish) / novelist (Good as Dead); Irene Lee (Director, Original Series, Drama, Netflix), and Liz Parker (Head of Publishing, Verve); Moderator: Gary Goldstein, screenwriter (Mr. 365) / novelist (The Last Birthday Party).

Tuesday 14
Native American & Indigenous Writers Committee Meeting
7:30-9:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity Committee Meetings
RSVP: NAIWC 09-2021. This Committee represents the professional and creative interests of Native American & Indigenous writers. It works to mentor, encourage, empower and increase the visibility and employment of writers of Native American & Indigenous heritage, and serves as a cultural and educational resource for all Guild member-writers seeking to portray Native American & Indigenous Peoples in their work.

Monday 20
Disabled Writers Committee Meeting
7-9 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity Committee Meetings
RSVP: DWC 09-2021. This Committee seeks to enhance the visibility and employment of writers with all types of disabilities, and encourage, celebrate, and endorse accurate portrayals of disabled people in all areas of the media. We also serve as an expert resource for all issues related to the disabled community.

Tuesday 21
WGF Library Script Breakdown with Freaks and Geeks’ Paul Feig
9-10 a.m. – Zoom
Category: Writers Guild Foundation
Info/RSVP: WGFoundation.org. For this special morning session, WGF librarians Javier Barrios and Lauren O’Connor take a look at one of our favorite pilot scripts for the 1999 cult-fave high school comedy, Freaks and Geeks, with writer and show creator Paul Feig. Learn how he approached character introductions, lessons learned from that season, and how he feels about the legacy and influence of the show over 20 years later. Free with suggested donation of $10.

Tuesday 21
LGBTQ+ Writers Committee Meeting
7:30-9:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity Committee Meetings
RSVP: LGBTQ+ 09-2021. The Writers Guild of America West’s LGBTQ+ Writers Committee seeks to utilize its constituency as a resource to all writers who include LGBTQ+ characters in their work. Its members also wish to provide cultural and educational opportunities for WGAW members to nurture an understanding of how sexual orientation and gender identity affect the lives of writers; endeavor to provide networking and social activities enabling the WGAW membership to better know one another and create a greater demand for the writing services of LGBTQ+ WGAW members; and strive to generate a greater awareness within the Guild of sexual orientation (and gender identity) as a minority and, where appropriate, to identify and advocate against instances of homophobia, transphobia and/or discrimination within our industry. WGA members may bring a non-WGA guest to this month’s meeting.

Thursday 23
In the Room with Middle Eastern Women
7:30-9 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity
RSVP: MENAWomen 09-2021. Presented by the WGAW’s Middle Eastern Writers Committee and Committee of Women Writers. Join us for an exciting virtual panel exploring the experiences of Middle Eastern and North African women writers in Hollywood. Panelists will discuss their challenges and successes working in the ever-changing landscapes of both features and television. Panelists include: Nastaran Dibai (Run the World), Debbie Jhoon (A.P. Bio), and Maryam Keshavarz (The Viper Club). Moderated by Maytha Alhassen, writer, historian, journalist, social justice artist, and mending practitioner (Ramy). WGA members plus one guest.

Monday 27
Latinx Writers Committee Meeting
7:30-9:30 p.m. – Zoom
Category: Inclusion and Equity Committee Meetings
RSVP: LWC 09-2021. This committee actively represents the professional, creative, social and economic interests of Latino Guild members. Its mandate is to encourage Latino writers to become more active within the Guild; and to raise the profile and perception of Latino writers in the industry at large by creating forums that foster networking, collaboration, education, information exchange, employment opportunities and creative expression.

Thursday 30
Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed it to the World
4-5:30 p.m. – Webinar
Category: Hollywood, Health
RSVP: Fallout. “Just days after the US decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs, the Japanese surrendered. But even before the surrender, the U.S. government and military had begun a secret propaganda and information suppression campaign to hide the devastating nature of these experimental weapons. The cover-up intensified as Occupation forces closed the atomic cities to Allied reporters, preventing leaks about the horrific long-term effects of radiation which would kill thousands during the months after the blast. For nearly a year the cover-up worked—until New Yorker journalist John Hersey got into Hiroshima and managed to report the truth to the world. Released on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Fallout is an engrossing detective story covering Hersey’s work, as well as an important piece of hidden history that shows how one heroic scoop saved—and can still save—the world.” Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser discusses this book with the author, Lesley M. M. Blume.

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