WGAE Reveals 2026 Staff Writer Bootcamp Graduates

EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild of America East has unveiled the graduates of its 2026 Staff Writer Bootcamp.

This year’s cohort included more than 30 diverse participants ranging from new episodic television writers to writers looking to transition on from their early work, including on series like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The 2026 graduates are: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Erika Bagnarello, Beanie Barnes, Jordan Barsky, Brooke Berman, Jen Bosworth-Ramirez, Brandon Burkhart, Amy Chu, Benjamin Cox, Francisca Da Silveira, Mike Drucker, Patrick Foley, Matt Foss, Alex Gonzalez, Jill Goodwin, Greg Iwinski, Ran Jing, Aditya Joshi, Ariel Levy, Matthew Libby, Jonelle Lightbourne, Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz, Nisha Mehta, Jerah Milligan, Joseph Opio, Anthony Rhone, Dallas Rico, Zack Schamberg, Alexis Scheer, Felipe Torres Medina, Randy Troy, Natasha Vaynblat, and Julia Young.   

The six-week program is open to eastern guild members who are either looking to staff an episodic writers’ room for the first time, or are early-career television writers looking to improve their skills. The bootcamp features presentations and in-depth conversations with established writers including Pachinko‘s Soo Hugh and Andor‘s  Beau Willimon.

Throughout the program, graduates sharpened their writing, pitching, producing, networking and more. The class itinerary included ‘Dynamics of the Writers Room’ with Matthew Ross Fennell; Hugh’s ‘From Landing the First Job to Handing in Your First Episode’; ‘Breaking Story’ with Willimon; and ‘Psychology of the Writers Room’ with Bash Doran.

Tanya Barfield, Beth Schacter, Gary Lennon, and Chris Brancato hosted a roundtable called ‘What Showrunners Expect of Writers/ What Writers Should Expect of Showrunners’. There was also a program called ‘Getting On Set Experience, Learning How to Produce, and Getting Producer Credit’ featuring Brennan Shroff, Céline Robinson, Angie Meyer, and Kate Erickson.  
 
“The future of television depends on the writers we invest in today. The Staff Writer Bootcamp is part of the WGAE’s commitment to fortifying the pipeline, and making sure talented writers have the knowledge, skills and connections they need to not just enter the room — but to thrive in it,” Michael Rauch, WGAE VP of Film/Television/Streaming, said in a statement.