Eight writers have been chosen for the annual writing program at Disney/ABC Television Group, in association with the Writers Guild of America, West.
Participants in the program, marking its 20th anniversary this year, are Zach Ayers, Denise Hahn, Aaron Ho, Zahir McGhee, Gina Monreal, Sierra Ornelas, Gloria Shen and Phononzell Williams. They will work closely with executives from Disney/ABC Television Group and gain valuable exposure to the writing staffs of various Disney/ABC Television Group series.
“With this 20th-anniversary class, we have reached an important milestone in the company’s ongoing commitment to developing the next group of writers,” Tim McNeal, VP of talent development and diversity for Disney/ABC Television Group, said in a statement. “Our program provides the best training ground for new writers aspiring to break into television.”
“The Writers Guild has a unique relationship with the Disney/ABC Television Group Writing Program. These talented writers are our future members and it’s important for us to connect with them at this early stage of their careers,” Kimberly Myers, the WGAW's director of diversity, said in a statement.
More than 1,500 submissions were received from around the country for the intensive training program. In 2009 writing participants were staffed on such series as ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” “Ugly Betty” and “Samantha Who?” as well as ABC Family’s “Greek.”
Alumni of the program include Jane Espenson, writer-executive producer-creator, “Battlestar Galactica,” “Warehouse 13” and “Caprica”; Tim Doyle, writer/co-executive producer on “Better of Ted”; Ayanna Floyd, writer-producer, “Private Practice”; Nelson Soler, writer-producer, “Lincoln Heights”; Saladin Patterson, writer/co-executive producer, “Psych”; Maria Jacquemetton, writer-supervising producer, “Mad Men”; and Reggie Rock Bythewood, writer of the film “Notorious.”
2010 Disney/ABC Television Group Writing Program Participants (from the Disney/ABC press release):
ZACH AYERS (Comedy)
Zach Ayers, born in Anchorage and raised in Seattle, is a former producer/director for the CIA turned comedy writer. After four years at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Zach pursued this less-clandestine career with vigor. Following his education at Ithaca University, he graduated from Second City’s writing program, creating successful but nonetheless unheard of web series for Crackle and Blip.tv. He then spent two months in London as the head writer of a comedic talk show at the Hayward Gallery. Most recently Zach was a writer’s assistant for the first season of the cable network series “Men of a Certain Age.”
DENISE HAHN (Drama)
Denise Hahn grew up in Boulder, Colorado. After graduating from Yale with a degree in English, she moved to Los Angeles, where she quickly landed a job as a development assistant with an independent film producer. Denise completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. After gaining valuable experience in development and production at Fox Searchlight, she discovered that writing was her true calling. She began writing screenplays and television specs and instantly fell in love with the medium’s power to create infinite new worlds and characters.
AARON HO (Comedy)
Born in San Francisco and raised in Fresno, California, Aaron Ho graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film & Video.
