The 2024 Next List

Briana Cox

Briana was born and raised in Tullahoma, TN — a town inexplicably found on state maps. (It just got a Publix!) She is the oldest of seven children and a first-generation academic. In 2019, she became a fellow with the TN Playwrights Studio and has been writing stageplays and low-budget film scripts ever since. She's channeling her inner Octavia Butler and enjoys working within the horror, sci-fi, and satire spaces, creating character and dialogue-driven stories that illuminate overlooked POVs with authenticity, killer aesthetics, and dark humor.

Briana was born and raised in Tullahoma, TN — a town inexplicably found on state maps. (It just got a Publix!) She is the oldest of seven children and a first-generation academic. In 2019, she became a fellow with the TN Playwrights Studio and has been writing stageplays and low-budget film scripts ever since. She's channeling her inner Octavia Butler and enjoys working within the horror, sci-fi, and satire spaces, creating character and dialogue-driven stories that illuminate overlooked POVs with authenticity, killer aesthetics, and dark humor.

Matilda Corley Schulman

As a recovering student athlete (Equestrian) (yes, she is a horse girl), and now a writer/actor based in Los Angeles, Matilda finds herself sharing stories filled with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heartbreak. Matilda hopes to give voice to women who have maybe been told to quiet down one too many times -- and maybe in the process, makes us all feel a bit less alone. She holds a BA in English from UC Berkeley (a transfer from Oklahoma State University) and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California.

As a recovering student athlete (Equestrian) (yes, she is a horse girl), and now a writer/actor based in Los Angeles, Matilda finds herself sharing stories filled with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heartbreak. Matilda hopes to give voice to women who have maybe been told to quiet down one too many times -- and maybe in the process, makes us all feel a bit less alone. She holds a BA in English from UC Berkeley (a transfer from Oklahoma State University) and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California.

Megan J Wilson

Megan's scripts have received accolades in the Nicholl, PAGE Award, Script Pipeline and Austin Film Festival competitions. She writes action/drama and action/comedy with a side of sci-fi featuring stories of families dealing with mental illness. With an action feature optioned in 2024, she now has one feature, a podcast, a TV series, and a short in development. Megan co-founded the League of Women Writers and loves vegetables.

Megan's scripts have received accolades in the Nicholl, PAGE Award, Script Pipeline and Austin Film Festival competitions. She writes action/drama and action/comedy with a side of sci-fi featuring stories of families dealing with mental illness. With an action feature optioned in 2024, she now has one feature, a podcast, a TV series, and a short in development. Megan co-founded the League of Women Writers and loves vegetables.

Callie Chiang

Callie Chiang is an alum of Mentorship Matters, an elite program that pairs showrunners with minority writers for one year. She is a biracial third generation Chinese Texan screenwriter who is still in recovery from her public school miseducation. Her stories serve a dual purpose: to entertain while offering profound insights into our society and the complexities of the human experience.

Callie Chiang is an alum of Mentorship Matters, an elite program that pairs showrunners with minority writers for one year. She is a biracial third generation Chinese Texan screenwriter who is still in recovery from her public school miseducation. Her stories serve a dual purpose: to entertain while offering profound insights into our society and the complexities of the human experience.

Allison Mick

Allison Mick is a comedy writer turned horror-comedy writer from the Great Lakes. She draws from her upbringing and personal experiences to address super serious topics like mixed-race identity and gender, as well as fun stuff like forest ecology and what happens after you die. Mick’s writing appears in Trailer Park Boys: Big A$$ Comic Collection (Devil’s Due Comics) and The Hard Times: The First 40 Years (Mariner Books). She was a contributor to the Los Suelos, CA interactive fiction anthology and voices Cougara on Adult Swim Shorts' series High Moon Queen. Humboldt Cut, her first eco-horror novel, debuts in 2026. Allison is a graduate of Williams College and Northeastern University School of Law. You can find all sorts of stuff at allison-mick.com.

Allison Mick is a comedy writer turned horror-comedy writer from the Great Lakes. She draws from her upbringing and personal experiences to address super serious topics like mixed-race identity and gender, as well as fun stuff like forest ecology and what happens after you die. Mick’s writing appears in Trailer Park Boys: Big A$$ Comic Collection (Devil’s Due Comics) and The Hard Times: The First 40 Years (Mariner Books). She was a contributor to the Los Suelos, CA interactive fiction anthology and voices Cougara on Adult Swim Shorts' series High Moon Queen. Humboldt Cut, her first eco-horror novel, debuts in 2026. Allison is a graduate of Williams College and Northeastern University School of Law. You can find all sorts of stuff at allison-mick.com.

Ivan Mooh Mooh

Since Ivan Mooh Mooh immigrated to America from Cameroon, West Africa at eight, he’s been familiar with violence: whether in his domestic abuse riddled household, or in the United States Marine Corps he joined at seventeen. Ivan writes about power: his stories being centered on familial and military dramas, with the occasional war epic in between. Ivan is a George Lucas Scholar who is finishing up his M.F.A. in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. Ivan’s had short stories published by: Aphros Magazine, Line Magazine & The Travelling Man.

Since Ivan Mooh Mooh immigrated to America from Cameroon, West Africa at eight, he’s been familiar with violence: whether in his domestic abuse riddled household, or in the United States Marine Corps he joined at seventeen. Ivan writes about power: his stories being centered on familial and military dramas, with the occasional war epic in between. Ivan is a George Lucas Scholar who is finishing up his M.F.A. in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. Ivan’s had short stories published by: Aphros Magazine, Line Magazine & The Travelling Man.

Gilani Sumida-Moiseff

Gilani Sumida-Moiseff (she/her) is a screenwriter from Honolulu, Hawaii. She began her career as a Location Department production assistant on the O’ahu, Hawaii sets of Kong: Skull Island. She then continued her career in episodic television and feature films on shows like Hawaii 5-0, Snatched, God Friended Me, FBI: Most Wanted, Only Murders in the Building, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, The Night Agent, and Caught Stealing. She is a member of the International Brotherhood of Theatrical Teamsters 817 as a Location Department Coordinator, and is currently based out of New York City. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (Bachelor of Humanities and Arts) and New York University, Tisch School of the Arts Asia (Master of Fine Arts). She was a 2023 Mentor in the Unlock Her Potential program founded by Sophia Chang, under the mentorship of Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios. She is currently in the 2024 Circle Management x Anarchists United Writers Discovery Fellowship Program.

Gilani Sumida-Moiseff (she/her) is a screenwriter from Honolulu, Hawaii. She began her career as a Location Department production assistant on the O’ahu, Hawaii sets of Kong: Skull Island. She then continued her career in episodic television and feature films on shows like Hawaii 5-0, Snatched, God Friended Me, FBI: Most Wanted, Only Murders in the Building, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, The Night Agent, and Caught Stealing. She is a member of the International Brotherhood of Theatrical Teamsters 817 as a Location Department Coordinator, and is currently based out of New York City. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (Bachelor of Humanities and Arts) and New York University, Tisch School of the Arts Asia (Master of Fine Arts). She was a 2023 Mentor in the Unlock Her Potential program founded by Sophia Chang, under the mentorship of Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios. She is currently in the 2024 Circle Management x Anarchists United Writers Discovery Fellowship Program.

Diana Glogau

Hailing from New York (okay, Long Island), Diana got her start producing chefs and drag queens on reality TV. Yes, she’s been yelled at over pantyhose. She served as the Writers’ Assistant on CRUEL SUMMER, co-writing an episode on season two, and recently was the Writers’/Showrunner’s Assistant on TELL ME LIES. Diana’s writing focuses on female perspectives, with an eye towards grounded, character driven, genre storytelling – and a morally questionable, pesky intrusive thought or two.

Hailing from New York (okay, Long Island), Diana got her start producing chefs and drag queens on reality TV. Yes, she’s been yelled at over pantyhose. She served as the Writers’ Assistant on CRUEL SUMMER, co-writing an episode on season two, and recently was the Writers’/Showrunner’s Assistant on TELL ME LIES. Diana’s writing focuses on female perspectives, with an eye towards grounded, character driven, genre storytelling – and a morally questionable, pesky intrusive thought or two.

Colton Childs

Colton Childs is a queer writer and cancer survivor who has often been mistaken for a Bed Bath & Beyond employee. He originally hails from a cattle ranch in South Texas and is a graduate of the drama program at Pace University in New York City. His pilot and feature scripts have placed in competitions such as Austin Film Festival, Launch Pad Feature Competition and Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest. He was selected for the 2024 Black List Writers Lab and won the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his feature Fake-A-Wish.

Colton Childs is a queer writer and cancer survivor who has often been mistaken for a Bed Bath & Beyond employee. He originally hails from a cattle ranch in South Texas and is a graduate of the drama program at Pace University in New York City. His pilot and feature scripts have placed in competitions such as Austin Film Festival, Launch Pad Feature Competition and Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest. He was selected for the 2024 Black List Writers Lab and won the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his feature Fake-A-Wish.

Alix Reeves

Moving from Cuba to Montego Bay Jamaica to end up in L.A. sure set the stage for Alix's wild imagination. What began as writing Reddit front page horror for No Sleep, to scripts winning at Austin Film Festival, Flicker Rhodes Island, and Final Draft's Big Break, turned into selling scripts to Lifetime and being in preproduction on her first feature psych-horror script.

Moving from Cuba to Montego Bay Jamaica to end up in L.A. sure set the stage for Alix's wild imagination. What began as writing Reddit front page horror for No Sleep, to scripts winning at Austin Film Festival, Flicker Rhodes Island, and Final Draft's Big Break, turned into selling scripts to Lifetime and being in preproduction on her first feature psych-horror script.

Liana Tsang Cohen

Liana Tsang Cohen is a writer from New York City. She currently lives in LA, where she is the Showrunner's Assistant on Apple TV+'s SHRINKING, starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, and BAD MONKEY, starring Vince Vaughn. Her pilot, SEAKILL, was selected as a winner in the 2024 WeScreenplay Pilot Lab. Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Appalachia, Halfway Down the Stairs, and Nightingale & Sparrow, and her short documentary won best Student Mobile Short at the Indie Short Fest. A graduate of Princeton University, she previously worked at Kaplan Perrone and Riverhead Books.

Liana Tsang Cohen is a writer from New York City. She currently lives in LA, where she is the Showrunner's Assistant on Apple TV+'s SHRINKING, starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, and BAD MONKEY, starring Vince Vaughn. Her pilot, SEAKILL, was selected as a winner in the 2024 WeScreenplay Pilot Lab. Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Appalachia, Halfway Down the Stairs, and Nightingale & Sparrow, and her short documentary won best Student Mobile Short at the Indie Short Fest. A graduate of Princeton University, she previously worked at Kaplan Perrone and Riverhead Books.

Nicole Lipp

Nicole Lipp is an award winning director and writer. She co-founded a production company, AYF Media, where she produces, directs, writes, and edits narrative films, music videos, and branded content. Nicole is a "Founding Daddy" at Not Your Daddy's Films; a social impact organization committed to empowering and educating women and nonbinary filmmakers.

Nicole Lipp is an award winning director and writer. She co-founded a production company, AYF Media, where she produces, directs, writes, and edits narrative films, music videos, and branded content. Nicole is a "Founding Daddy" at Not Your Daddy's Films; a social impact organization committed to empowering and educating women and nonbinary filmmakers.

Naki Franklin

Growing up in Washington, D.C., you could find Naki playing soccer against the daughter of the President of the United States or draining her mom's printer ink to "publish" books. Wearing a back brace throughout grade school gave her a straight spine and a passion for creating underdog protagonists in her stories. Naki writes hard-funny family and workplace sitcoms, as well as women- and girl-led coming-of-age (at any age) dramedies that center on friendships and romances. Beyond her career, she is a former national quiz bowl champion, ex-STEM, and a Back to the Future fan.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., you could find Naki playing soccer against the daughter of the President of the United States or draining her mom's printer ink to "publish" books. Wearing a back brace throughout grade school gave her a straight spine and a passion for creating underdog protagonists in her stories. Naki writes hard-funny family and workplace sitcoms, as well as women- and girl-led coming-of-age (at any age) dramedies that center on friendships and romances. Beyond her career, she is a former national quiz bowl champion, ex-STEM, and a Back to the Future fan.

Madison Vanderberg

Madison Vanderberg is currently out with a comedy thriller feature with Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road producing. Previously, she wrote a reboot of the cult comedy "Last American Virgin" for Millennium Films and has worked with producers like Jim Whitaker, Baobab Animation, and Adam Goodman's Invisible Narratives. Madison had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stint as a somewhat professional dancer and her longterm day job was as an entertainment reporter

Madison Vanderberg is currently out with a comedy thriller feature with Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road producing. Previously, she wrote a reboot of the cult comedy "Last American Virgin" for Millennium Films and has worked with producers like Jim Whitaker, Baobab Animation, and Adam Goodman's Invisible Narratives. Madison had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stint as a somewhat professional dancer and her longterm day job was as an entertainment reporter

Chas Chang

Chas is a NY-based filmmaker with a strong propensity for stylish visuals and dark humor. After attending two of the best art schools known to mankind and spending time as an advertising creative director/designer, Chas began writing feature screenplays and creating his own unique short films all thanks to his undying love for cinema. His focus now is on character-driven arthouse genre feature films with touches of black comedy, moral grey areas, and delicious movie violence.

Chas is a NY-based filmmaker with a strong propensity for stylish visuals and dark humor. After attending two of the best art schools known to mankind and spending time as an advertising creative director/designer, Chas began writing feature screenplays and creating his own unique short films all thanks to his undying love for cinema. His focus now is on character-driven arthouse genre feature films with touches of black comedy, moral grey areas, and delicious movie violence.

Katerina Munis

Katerina Munis is an award-winning writer & director with an MFA in Film & TV Production from USC. She is Director of Productions at XR Stage, an immersive reality studio. Katerina's directorial debut Daedalus was awarded grants from FOX, XR, and USC, and was captured with 3D-XR. Katerina received myriad "Best Director", "Best Film", and festival awards for Daedalus, including the 2024 TELLY for "Best Director". Daedalus was showcased in the AMPAV Emerging Filmmaker program at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Katerina is the 2024 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellow. Her debut script "BEASTS" is a 2023 Academy Awards Nicholls finalist, Sundance Labs finalist, Stowe Labs selection, and on the REDLIST. Her sci-fi script "A Singular Girl" is currently a 2025 Sundance Labs finalist. Katerina frequently writes dramas with sensuality, magical realism, and plot twists. Katerina's stories are provocative and enchanting, exploring underdog characters who brave extraordinary circumstances.

Katerina Munis is an award-winning writer & director with an MFA in Film & TV Production from USC. She is Director of Productions at XR Stage, an immersive reality studio. Katerina's directorial debut Daedalus was awarded grants from FOX, XR, and USC, and was captured with 3D-XR. Katerina received myriad "Best Director", "Best Film", and festival awards for Daedalus, including the 2024 TELLY for "Best Director". Daedalus was showcased in the AMPAV Emerging Filmmaker program at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Katerina is the 2024 ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellow. Her debut script "BEASTS" is a 2023 Academy Awards Nicholls finalist, Sundance Labs finalist, Stowe Labs selection, and on the REDLIST. Her sci-fi script "A Singular Girl" is currently a 2025 Sundance Labs finalist. Katerina frequently writes dramas with sensuality, magical realism, and plot twists. Katerina's stories are provocative and enchanting, exploring underdog characters who brave extraordinary circumstances.

Sara Kimura

Sara Kimura is a Japanese Mexi-Rican comedy writer who escaped a religious cult only to join an even more unhinged cult - the TV industry. Naturally, Sara now writes offbeat coming-of-age comedies about fish-out-of-water characters at odds with their environments. As a pseudo-mom to teen siblings, Sara also gravitates toward stories about chaotic families. She is a 2023 WBTV Writers Workshop alum and CoC Writers Fellow.

Sara Kimura is a Japanese Mexi-Rican comedy writer who escaped a religious cult only to join an even more unhinged cult - the TV industry. Naturally, Sara now writes offbeat coming-of-age comedies about fish-out-of-water characters at odds with their environments. As a pseudo-mom to teen siblings, Sara also gravitates toward stories about chaotic families. She is a 2023 WBTV Writers Workshop alum and CoC Writers Fellow.

Danielle Weisberg

Danielle is an actual valley girl and former theatre kid/band geek/ballerina whose writing has been described as "joyful but deadly serious." She most recently had two episodes of Krapopolis (FOX) air in April and October respectively. Previously she worked on The Simpsons (FOX), where her episode was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Danielle writes joke heavy female-focused comedy weaving in elements of fantasy and surrealism.

Danielle is an actual valley girl and former theatre kid/band geek/ballerina whose writing has been described as "joyful but deadly serious." She most recently had two episodes of Krapopolis (FOX) air in April and October respectively. Previously she worked on The Simpsons (FOX), where her episode was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Danielle writes joke heavy female-focused comedy weaving in elements of fantasy and surrealism.

Krystal Dinsberg

Krystal Dinsberg is a Black Native comedy writer with scripts showcasing how a "mess" becomes a message. Her stories of diverse ensembles explore relatable experiences in adulting with a modern spin on the heartfelt classic sitcom.

With an imagination sparking from an early age due to many travels in an Air Force family and an early love for comedy, she found a community of dreamers within theater and improv spaces. Many leather jackets and Blerd playscripts later Krystal took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles.

Her credits include an Associate Producer for NBC's The Voice and support staff roles for Hallmark, NBC, Paramount +, Amazon, and WBTV as well as Associate Producer/Researcher for the comedy podcast The Alarmist. In 2022 Krystal was selected as a Women in Film Writer's Circle mentee and her script RULE BREAKER secured her a place as a finalist in the 2024 Disney (DET) Writing Program.

Krystal Dinsberg is a Black Native comedy writer with scripts showcasing how a "mess" becomes a message. Her stories of diverse ensembles explore relatable experiences in adulting with a modern spin on the heartfelt classic sitcom.

With an imagination sparking from an early age due to many travels in an Air Force family and an early love for comedy, she found a community of dreamers within theater and improv spaces. Many leather jackets and Blerd playscripts later Krystal took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles.

Her credits include an Associate Producer for NBC's The Voice and support staff roles for Hallmark, NBC, Paramount +, Amazon, and WBTV as well as Associate Producer/Researcher for the comedy podcast The Alarmist. In 2022 Krystal was selected as a Women in Film Writer's Circle mentee and her script RULE BREAKER secured her a place as a finalist in the 2024 Disney (DET) Writing Program.

Faisal Qureshi

Faisal transitioned into investigative journalism through screenwriting. They previously contributed to the production of the BAFTA-winning Four Lions (2010), the Emmy and BAFTA-winning documentary Leaving Neverland (2019), as well as The Day Shall Come (2019) and In the Shadow of 9/11 (2021). They have worked as a researcher for both factual projects and dramas, including HBO’s Succession and Netflix’s The Most Hated Man on the Internet.

Faisal transitioned into investigative journalism through screenwriting. They previously contributed to the production of the BAFTA-winning Four Lions (2010), the Emmy and BAFTA-winning documentary Leaving Neverland (2019), as well as The Day Shall Come (2019) and In the Shadow of 9/11 (2021). They have worked as a researcher for both factual projects and dramas, including HBO’s Succession and Netflix’s The Most Hated Man on the Internet.