Success Stories
Success: Amanda Eberhardt Featured on Deadline
This past pride month, Writers’ Program student Amanda Eberhardt was featured in Deadline as an Out Loud List honoree for “Best Unproduced TV Scripts” by Out in Hollywood for their TV pilot Glorious Empire, the true story of Rome’s first and only trans female empress,...
Success: Michele Karpel’s Script Placements
Former student Michele Karpel has recently garnered success on the festival circuit, “my screenplay Broad Band, has won three best screenplay awards. Most recently, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.” On her experience in the Writers’ Program, “Thanks for this...
Success: Stephen Ra-Choi Screenwriting Fellowship Placements
Stephen Ra-Choi, a recent graduate of the UCLA Extension certificate program, was selected as one of the 25 finalists for the 2023 Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship. He was also given an honorable mention by the ISA Diversity Initiative program for 2023. For both...
Success: Instructor Colin Costello’s Film Awards
Screenwriting Instructor Colin Costello has been experiencing success on the film festival circuit with his award-winning short film, Storage, which just won Best Short Film in the Horror/Sci-Fi Category at the French Riviera Film Festival, held in Cannes. Colin was...
Success: Aurora Lewis New Memoir Collection
Former student Aurora Lewis new memoir collection was released this past April and is now available on Amazon. In Aurora’s own words “Since completing the UCLA Extension Creative Writing program I have published over 250 pieces. My latest self-published book Jigsaw...
Success: Mylo Lam’s Chapbook Publication
Former student Mylo Lam has won the Editor’s Choice award at Quarterly West for his chapbook AND NOT / AND YET, and it will be published soon. Mylo says of the experience, “I have built some [success] these past few years. The challenge continues to be that there is...
Success: Lena Nelson’s Debut Book
Former student Lena Nelson’s first book, America’s Youngest Ambassador: The Cold War Story of Samantha’s Smith Lasting Message of Peace, releases in the US on June 1, 2023. “The tale of ten-year-old Samantha Smith, who in the fall of 1982 wrote to the Soviet leader...
Success: Hillary Yablon’s Upcoming Novel
Student and 2020 winner of the Allegra Johnson Prize, Hillary Yabon, has recently sold her novel! It will be published in 2024. Hilary says, “The fact that this book is going to be out in the world is one of the great honors of my life. I never thought I would be...
Feature Articles
A Conversation on Horror with Instructor Guillermo Escalona
The spooky season is upon us. In honor of this time of year, the Writers' Program reached out to our resident horror specialists to ask them about their relationship to their chosen genre. Executive producer, writer, and Horror Instructor Guillermo Escalona kicks us...
Instructors & Their Pets: Merrill Feitell and Fergus
Merrill Feitel is a beloved Writers’ Program instructor and award-winning author of short fiction and nonfiction stories. She has a furry companion who features prominently in many of her works. We caught up with her this past month and asked her if she would mind...
National Dessert Day: Instructor Lou Mathews and Budino
This past Saturday, October 14th was National Dessert Day! In honor of this auspicious holiday, the Writers' Program has asked some of our instructors with food writing backgrounds to tell us about their favorite desserts. Lou Mathews was kind enough to share one of...
National Dessert Day: Instructor Norman Kolpas and Lemon Meringue Pie
Today, October 14th, is National Dessert Day! In honor of this auspicious holiday, the Writers' Program has asked some of our instructors with food writing backgrounds to tell us about their favorite desserts. Instructor Norman Kolpas was kind enough to share about...
National Dessert Day: Instructor Nancy Spiller’s Persimmon Pudding
This Saturday, October 14th is National Dessert Day. In honor of this auspicious holiday, the Writers' Program caught up with a few of our Instructors on staff who, among many things, are food writers. Instructor Nancy Spiller was kind enough to share her delicious...
Writers’ Program Student and Gebauer Scholarship winner, Suzan Mikiel
Suzan Mikiel is a Writer’s Program student, WP NOW member, and 2022-23 Gebauer Scholarship Winner. She was kind enough to sit down with us to reflect on her time with the Writers’ Program, her Gebauer win, her script placements, and what’s next. Can you give me a...
Instructor Lou Mathews and his Long Road to Publication
Lou Mathews is a longtime Writers’ Program instructor, a true UCLA Extension classic. Over decades (since 1989), he has helped shape students as writers and artists, offering a superabundance of wisdom to those whose bums have graced the seats of his classroom. While...
Lessons to Learn from Stephen King
Last Thursday, September 21st, marked the 76th birthday of one of the 21st century’s most prolific and commercially successful writers in the world. Stephen King has penned over 70 novels and 200 short stories. A quick peruse of IMDB reveals that he has over 336...