SRN Executive Minutes – January 2023

Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

Circulation list: Rosanne Welch (RW), Rose Ferrell (RF), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Anna Weinstein (AW).  ECR Clarissa Miranda (CM)

 

Guest(s): Working Group leaders: Romana Turina, Maxine Gee

 

  1. Apologies / Take group photo

 

Rose—

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting

 

JC approves— IGA seconds—

 

  1. Working Groups

 

Max updates on the practice-based research group. Met twice, looking to meet more regularly. Plan to invite a guest each meeting, someone who has done research to share their practice with the group. Regular ECR check-ins and mid-point online symposium. She clarifies that this wouldn’t be a repeat of the conference, rather a way of involving interested folks mid-year. Max would like to involve more masters students, recruitment to get students involved in this area. Good opportunity for MA students to see the research taking place, what they might want to get involved in. She clarifies that we would likely use online spaces, opening it up to more members and students. CM suggests regular Zoom meetings, table read for the next conference in an evening.

 

Romana shared a video update on the comparative screenwriting teaching working group. The group formed at the 2022 conference in Vienna. Currently 50 members and still growing. Romana hosted several ice-breaker meetings in Nov and Dec ’22 and organized a blog to create visibility re comparative screenwriting teaching. There are five subgroups: character development, teaching methods, non-Anglophone traditions, structure analysis, and different industries. Aims are to offer a series of seminars on a pool of topics so members can collect a bank of data. Online Zoom meetings will be open twice for each meeting so members from different time frames can attend. Meetings are currently established, beginning January through June.

 

  1. Isadora Membership Officer Update

 

IGA talked to Rose and got an explanation about process and how it’s evolved. It’s been a long since the membership form has gone out, so she is considering sending out a new form for members to fill out, the type of research they’re interested in, demographics, etc. This will give us a better idea of how many active members we have. RW says it would be good to get a real tally, creating a new form makes sense. IGA says a Google form on Google drive could be a good option; she will create a draft of the form for the next meeting. CM will promote on FB and other forms of social media. JC asks how many active members. IGA says we don’t have an estimate beyond the people who come to the conferences.

 

  1. Status on Posts to Make to Members: Approve new Call for Hosts to follow 2024 Palacký University in the Czech Republic/ Check in w/judges/ Post about this year’s Awards w/deadlines and judge’s emails.

 

RW put out a call for hosts, she will send it out again. JC asks if we will send out a call in the Feb newsletter. RW will email him the call for the newsletter. IGA asks if any institutions have discussed interest in hosting. RW says Milan and Brazil. She will nudge others as well. IGA says the University of Navarra might be interested as they organize a conference every year and already have funding. They were checking to find out when Media and Film will be in charge of hosting. IGA will remind them.

 

  1. Institutional memory Update: YouTube/Creating password repository (YouTube channel, login required being sent a one-time code to Rafael’s phone number, -change the setting to new Website coordinator’s phone number) / Institutional memory / Creating a Discord site/Support Working Groups more / Updating Social Media with postings of scholarships, residencies, teaching/collaborating opps/ Exiting Twitter?

 

RW updates, Rose is working with Rafael on YouTube. RW has thought about a private Discord site, have to invite members to connect people. RW is looking for smaller meetings to connect people. CM says Instagram could be an option. RW suggests Clarissa look into it as another option.

 

  1.   RF: Record 2-3 SRN Conversations this year to catch up so we can do new ones only a year after a new conference has been held…Revisit at the next meeting.
  2. RF: Website Update– other info of interest to include (make map of the world with numbers in each country showing who is from where/-put the animation on the front of the website or as the first thing when you click “Conferences” tab)Revisit at the next meeting.

 

  1. AW: The Tom Stempel Foundation of Screenwriting Research: Inaugural Lecture at SRN 2023

 

RW confirms that Tom S will give the inaugural Screenwriting Research Lecture. Meg LeFauve will be the invited guest for Sat evening. RW is working on additional keynotes, currently looking for a female scholar. AW said she will send her a short list of names.

 

  1. Adjust Constitution: Reorganizing EC member titles and duties/Update Website / ADD ECR / Adding statement on integrity of members / Proposing EC serves for one year and then joins full EC for the next 2. Then can choose to run for another term. This would ensure quality candidates and continued new leadership.

 

RW says she talked to Paolo and there is a statement re duties. She will look into this more for the next meeting.

 

  1. Other business

 

Anna shares description /criteria for possible Teaching Award. RW suggests also including a five-min video as part of the application. IGA says for some teaching positions people are required to do a “sample lecture” – maybe that is something that we can request in video form as well? RW likes this idea. AW asks how we would evaluate who could be on the committee. IGA suggests this might be a good way to involve longtime SRN members who have extensive teaching experience. RW suggests Ian Macdonald, Jule Selbo, and Jill Nelmes and several members who might be interested.

 

Date of next meeting: Feb 20

SRN Executive Minutes – October 2024

EC MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES

 

Date: Monday 21st October 2024

 

 

In attendance:  Rosanne Welch (RW), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Juan Carlos Carillo (JCC), Lucien Georgescu (LG), Clarissa Miranda (CM), Romana Turina (RT), Hugo Armando Arciniegas, ERC (HA). Also in attendance, non-EC member Marius (DP responsible for recording SRN 2024).

 

  1. Apologies (N/A)

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting (September, in person at SRN 2024).

(September AGM to post to YouTube Channel). Also attached History of SRN for EC members to read.

RW approves/ LG seconds.

 

Also as Election update – Fully Welcome Clarissa, Romana, and Juan Carlos. Discuss changeover of responsibilities:  Decisions during SRN2024 = Rosanne/Vice Chair,  Isadora/Secretary, Juan Carlos/Membership, Jan/Newsletter, Clarissa/Website Coordinator. Per Constitution shall we name a Treasurer?

 

  1. Update on documentary about SRN2024.

 

LG – The first version of the video will be ready very soon, along with a teaser/trailer. Paolo Russo and Armando Fumagalli provided lots of pictures and materials from their respective conferences, which will be integrated into the video. LG and Marius conducted 8 interviews with previous conference organisers, and 6 of them were very long, so they have a lot of material to work with. More material than LC and Marius expected, so they need more time to edit everything.

 

RW – No need to apologize! This is volunteer work, and editing takes a lot of time.

 

LG – Hopefully by next meeting they will have a more complete version. For now, they will show the EC a brief teaser.

[Marius shares his screen and plays a draft version of the teaser.] In spite of some technical problems with the Internet connection, the teaser looks really good!

 

LG – Will send a low-resolution version of the teaser to all members of the EC via e-mail, so that we can see it better. For next meeting, LG plans to have a list of deliverables and schedule regarding the documentary.

 

  1. Future SRN Conferences

 

RW – In the next few months we need to decide the upcoming conferences, from 2028 onwards. For now, the ones that have been fully confirmed are:

  • 2025 – University of South Australia (org. Craig Batty)
  • 2026 – Oxford Brookes University (org. Paolo Russo)

 

RW – Potential upcoming bids: Milan, Mexico City, Bucharest.

 

JCC – It would be Mexico City, at Universidad Panamericana. We also need to consider if conferences should alternate between Europe and North America every other year.

 

LG – Rector of LG’s institution in Bucharest (Universitatea Nationala de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica “Ion Luca Caragiale” din București) is very enthusiastic about hosting an SRN conference. However, he is in his second mandate, and while he supports the project, by 2028 there might be a different rector, which might make it more difficult.

 

RW – We need to check with Armando Fumagalli, to see if he is tied to 2027. Maybe he can do it later, since Milan has hosted before?

 

LG – Maybe we can consider two universities as organisers. Bucharest + Milan. Not two venues. Just one venue, but two universities organising the conference. We would have to talk to Armando and see if this is possible.

 

IGA –  We also have a bid from the University of Navarre in Spain. They might be able to host the   between 2028 and 2030. We would have to check with them.

 

JCC – Mexico can adapt to whatever dates are more suitable for everyone.

 

RW – By the end of the year we should have 2027 and 2028 figured out.

 

CM is waiting for a final answer from her university regarding a potential conference in Brazil, in the city of Florianópolis, at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Hopefully we will have an answer by next month.

 

JC has realised, after hosting SRN 2024, that money is not a problem to organise a conference. Even with a limited budget, it can be done just with conference fees. If you have extra funding, you can get more prestigious keynotes etc, but the basics can be covered by conference fees. Also, post-SRN2024 Update –150 participants/30 countries/31 panels/budget in the green/Erasmus participation helped.

 

RW agrees. It’s not about money, it’s about having lots of volunteers, students helping out.

 

JC – Because of inflation, in future years we might consider higher conference fees.

 

  1. Dates for upcoming meetings

 

RW – We will keep meeting on the third Monday of each month, at the same time (7:00 am in LA). Each person will have to consider DayLight Time Savings.

 

IGA – To confirm for the minutes: Next meeting will be on Monday, Nov. 18th. We are skipping the one in December, because of the holidays.

 

  1. New roles within the EC

 

JCC and IG – Re: Membership and Inclusion Officer, the transfer of duties has been made. We are waiting on the e-mail change so that JCC can become the JISCMAIL admin.

 

CM had two long meetings with Rose Ferrell (previous webmaster) to learn everything about the website.

 

RW – Romana (RT) is a member-at-large, but since we need a treasurer, maybe she can become the treasurer, even though we don’t collect any fees. It’s a required role.

 

RT- I will help in any way that I can.

 

RW – We also need a member to liaison with working groups via the working groups leaders. Maybe this can be Romana as well?

 

RT accepts this role.

 

RW – Therefore, Romana will be both Treasurer and Working Group Liaison.

 

JC – We need a native speaker to review and proofread the newsletter, now that Rose is no longer a member of the EC.

 

RW – I have realized that we now have more people in the EC with Spanish as a first language instead of English… The SRN is truly international!

 

RW – We also need to consider who will be the next Chair. I will be staying for a year as ViceChair, but next year someone else should step up. I will be staying for an additional year to help them out, then I will leave the EC.

 

LG – I can also liaise with the working groups. And I can assist as ViceChair if necessary.

 

RW – Great. Next role would be Social Media. Where are we on Social media, Hugo?

 

LG – Excellent, he is doing excellent!

HA – Clarissa and her friend Bianca gave me great info on how to plan and programme posts on social media. I have been learning how to programme 3 posts a week across all social media, mainly on Instagram and LinkedIn. I’m now learning how to better use Instagram stories. Everything is going well.

 

 

RW – We always try to keep meetings to one hour. Any other topics?

 

JC – As per the agenda, we also needed to discuss the possibility of posting keynote speeches from conferences on the website.

 

RW – Yeah, not to give Clarissa extra work, but that is a wonderful idea.

 

JC – It could be an expandable option on the website menu, where we could upload the speeches and papers (if they have been published).

 

IGA –  Just to confirm this for the minutes, EC members will hold the following roles this year:

 

Vice Chair – RW (until new Chair next September)

Vice Chair – LG

Membership & Inclusion – JCC

Treasurer & Working Group Liaison – RT

Secretary – IGA

Website Coordinator – CM

Newsletter Editor – JC

ECR (Social Media) – HA

 

RW – See you all next month, on November 18th. And remember to read Ian McDonald’s wonderful article on the history of the SRN!

 

 

Executive Council Meeting – August 2024

Here’s the screenshot from our last EC Meeting held on 22nd August:

L to R: Rosanne Welch (Chair), Clarissa Miranda (to be new Web Coordinator), Anna Weinstein (Secretary), Bottom L to R: Rose Ferrell (Web Coordinator), Lucian Georgescu (Conversations Coordinator), Hugo Arciniegas (Early Career Representative).

SRN Executive Minutes – July 2024

MINUTES

Monday, July 22, 2024

Circulation list: Rosanne Welch (RW), Rose Ferrell (RF), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Anna Weinstein (AW), Lucien Georgescu (LG).  ECR Clarissa Miranda (CM), Hugo Armando Arcinega (HA)

  1. Apologies

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting (April)

    –LG approves, JC seconds.

 

  1. JC: Update on SRN2024. Plus discuss things related to public transport in the Czech Republic? As well as the best ways to get from Prague to Olomouc, and other practical questions for travellers.

    –JC says it’s 2 ½ hour bus from the Prague airport to conference. Airport Express: https://www.cd.cz/dalsi-sluzby/navazna-doprava/-26856/ Three train co: RegioJet, Leo Express, České dráhy. JC recommends trains rather than buses.

 

  1. JC: Newsletter Update – – Newsletter – went out in June. Compliments on completing in in the midst of conference planning. Suggestions for future issues (Announce new Working Groups and leaders)

    –JC updates that the deadline will be the first week of Sept.

 

  1. AW: – Election update – applicants/deadline/will we need Scrutineers? “From then on, all proceedings (including ballots, management of the election if held, and appointment of new members of the EC) will be impartially overseen by two Scrutineers, independent from the Executive Council.” RW reminds us that someone has to be chair, and it should be someone already on the EC. She will run for this year just to support the new chair

 

  1. LG/RF: SRN Conversation #4 progress: London (& Leeds?) Need one done in the next month/6 weeks. Potsdam will be in next set.

    –LG updates that he secured funds to bring a DOP with him with two cameras, working on flights tomorrow, hoping to be in on the 10th or 11th and staying until Sunday. They are looking to have as much material as possible from the conference so they can make a commercial for the conference as well as getting interviews with the EC. He wants to get a list of attendees from Jan. Clarissa has offered to help. He will have a small list of questions for the EC and they will do it documentary style.

 

  1. RW – Book awards Update – From Carmen Sofia Brenes: “7 articles, 4 book chapters, 7 books”. A question came up about submitting a PhD monograph – the awards require the piece to have been published – but that raised the idea:  “We could have an award for PhD Monographs in the future! It is a way to incentivate the research on the field!”  Other question:  “I wonder if, in future years, we might consider a category for history and a separate one for craft. They’re such different forms…”  Could we do that this year (since there is no monetary award)?.  ALSO, “I like the idea of dividing books into craft and history.  Does this include articles and book chapters please?” BUT also “In my opinion, it is better to remain with two awards. One for books and the other for chapters/articles (without the distinction between craft and history).  At least this year. Otherwise it can be confusing. If the Council decides to give more awards, that can be included in the next call for awards.  I have a slight doubt about the distinction between craft and history: the awards were there to celebrate an outstanding piece of screenwriting research, in any field. Maybe the jurors can decide each year where to put more emphasis.

    –RW updates that they should know by the first week of September. RF recommends that the third judge decides. IGA suggests that one award is enough. Perhaps an honorable mention for the second. AW thinks there is a difference between craft and history books. LC agrees. IGA thinks it would be a good idea to give an award for a dissertation, but the problem is language. RW says that we made the decision in Vienna that the book review has to be in English. JC suggests that

 

  1. AW – Teaching Awards Update.

 

  1. RW: Reminds the EC to prepare individual reports for the first week of Aug so she can add to the PowerPoint for the AGM. Planning to have the AGM on the Thursday during conference week, but we can decide at our Aug EC meeting.

    –RW reminds everyone to get their updates by mid-August.

 

  1. IG: Update on publishing Top 5-10 suggestions/how they are being addressed from Membership Survey to listserve and also AGM. ALSO, Discuss Responses to Call for Volunteers:

 

A.) Craig Batty’s new Working Group for PhD candidates Description:

Working group name:

Screenwriting PhD Candidate Community

 

Working group lead and contact details:

Craig Batty, University of South Australia

craig.batty@unisa.edu.au

 

Working group outline:

This group provides a collegial, creative-critical community for currently enrolled (or about to be enrolled) PhD candidates. Whether you are working on a screenwriting thesis by creative practice, or a more traditional, theoretical thesis, this group provides a safe space for sharing ideas and work in progress, and for seeking and giving advice about the PhD journey. International in nature, the group also builds a cross-cultural, multi-perspective community of emerging scholars and leaders, helping to promote the next generation of screenwriting researchers around the world.

 

The group is informed by deep expertise in PhD supervision and examination, and a commitment to excellence in research training and researcher development. Group members are invited to come with questions about the PhD, concerns about their candidature, ideas that they want to test out, or simply to listen to where others are at on the journey. As the group establishes itself, guest speakers may be brought in to help members expand their knowledge, experience, and research horizons.

 

–IGA thinks it’s a great idea. All agree. RW will let Craig know.

B.) AW: meeting with Alessandra Bautze, Georgia State University. (See Addendum with all letters received)

–AW is meeting with her August 6 and will update the EC at the next meeting.

C.) See Addendum with all other volunteer offers – Decide on follow up emails

 

  1. RF – First – thanks for posting Hugo’s bio to the website. Second, can we consider creating a FAQ on the website that includes these new strains of listserve emails (like the one on books but now there is one on writing on one-act and two-act feature films)? Better than a link to the Google drive???

 

  1. CM/HA: Presentation of the report of monthly results of social media, and conference in Brazil in five years in the city of Florianópolis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

    –CM shares that she is thankful to Hugo for making a lot of posts. She has spoken with the professor and team at Florianópolis, and they are interested in being a part of it. She will have more updates soon. HA offers that he is available for other tasks because the social media posts don’t take a lot of time. RW wonders if he might be able to help with the website. RF says that could be very helpful, even smaller jobs like posting minutes on the website or materials from the working groups.

 

  1. Take group photo

 

  1. RF – Brainstorming more uses for SRN YouTube Channel…

    –JC suggests Romana’s videos could be posted on the YouTube. AW suggests that we could have interviews with the book awards winners and the teaching awards winners. LC says we can get the interviews at the Sept conference. RF thinks it’s a great idea and much more engaging.

 

  1. RF – on GoogleDrive of past conferences /Create Page of Emeritus EC members????

    –All agree this is an excellent idea.

 

  1. JC: Heide Philipsen project – refection letter not funded – keep on agenda for resubmission next year.

 

Date of next meeting(s):  Monday same time –Aug. 19, Sept. 12 (in person at SRN2024).

 

ADDENDUM A

 

Response from Alessandra Bautze to call for Volunteers:

Alessandra Victoria Bautze abautze@gsu.edu

 

“I’m writing to express my interest in getting involved in a service opportunity with the Screenwriting Research Network. I joined Georgia State as Assistant Professor of Screenwriting in August 2022. I’d like to get involved with SRN and am eager to meet new colleagues in our field.

 

I am particularly interested in serving as a “representative or liaison with local writers’ guilds, associations and practitioners”, as coordinator of social/networking events, or as a coordinator of an Online Script Club. I enjoyed meeting representatives of organizations such as the Authors Guild when I was living in New York and now I enjoy maintaining connections with writers residency coordinators. I’m a very social person and have experience planning meetings and meetups. I also think that a monthly script reading event would be a great way to network with colleagues and share ideas.

 

But of course I am open to serving wherever the need is greatest.

 

I’d love to speak further at your convenience. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

 

 

Response from Eugene Doyen to call for Volunteers:

e.doyen@qmul.ac.uk

Coordinator – Online Script Club (like a book club, but with scripts!)  Monthly (or bi-monthly) discussion of screenplays.

Queen Mary, University of London

 

I was fine to attend the Vienna based conference, the US and Olomouc was and is right up against the start of the academic year. I’d be absent for all the final preparations and have three production modules running in the first semester.

I will see if I can summon up the courage to take the risk to attend this fiall. Attending and meeting online to set up teaching would be bad experience. I am going to conference in Gorizia. (I know its not SRN, but I can see some overlap of people.)

In case its helpful I’m fine to convene a group, take turns.

 

 

Response from Joachim Strand to call for Volunteers

Joachim Strand <joachim.strand@uwa.edu.au>

I would like to be considered for the Online Script Club Coordinator, because reading scripts is key to becoming a better script writer.

My initial reaction is for a bi-monthly discussion, to allow enough time for people to read, and that the discussion takes the form of a chat forum. While a Zoom discussion would be better, the different time zones we are all in presents a hurdle.

Further to that, I would also like to actively engage in the syllabus development.

Let me know what you think.

Since the responses will be discussed, I thought I’d flesh it out a bit:

Reading and analysing scripts is key to becoming a better script writer, and it is something we are all already doing. But, the option of discussing and sharing our findings, questions, and reflections on the scripts we read is not something that is necessarily available to all of us. Certainly not with a world wide range of skilled professionals.

Therefore I believe that script reading club will be a great opportunity to not only actuate a habit of regular script reading but also advancing an active critical bearing on the script reading process and the on the scripts we read. Not to mention, it is a great way to network and build relationships.

To allow enough time for people to read I feel that a bi-monthly discussion is good, and that the discussion takes the form of a chat forum. While a Zoom discussion would be better, the different time zones we are all in presents a hurdle.

As a first read I would suggest ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ (1974) by John Huston and Gladys Knight. Great link here with lots of info on the film, as well as a link to the script.

Possible discussion points:

– Adaptation

– The literary ‘qualities’ of the often long and winding Action sections, often containing ‘un-filmables’

– Utilisation of sound-symbolism

– Colonial representation

– The use of Voice-Over for narrative and structural purposes (this one is particularly interesting as the VO allows the film to move across time and space, and enables the somewhat circular structure)

And, as mentioned, I would also like to actively engage in the syllabus development.

 

 

 

Response from Paolo Russo to call for Volunteers:

Paolo Russo <paolo.russo@brookes.ac.uk>

Such wonderful ideas, these are!

Given the current and future focus of my research, I will definitely join the working group on AI and screenwriting, albeit just as a member, not as a coordinator (although, once a coordinator is in place, I’d be happy to help in any way). I am presenting on AI in Olomouc and I have quite a few ambitious projects in store on this.

Moreover, I’d be happy to be the SRN liaison with the Writers Guild of Great Britain, of which I am a member. I’ll do my best in trying to get them on board with something, although in these past few years I’ve found that they are not particularly receptive. That said, I know that recently they have launched a survey to map how screenwriting is taught in UK’s higher education establishment, therefore I wanted to push for this anyway, so why not on behalf of the SRN too.

 

 

Response from Harvest Bellante to call for Volunteers:

Harvest Bellante hbellante@yahoo.com

(Will not be in Olomouc)

I received this email about service opportunities and I wanted to apply to help.  I would probably be best suited for an online role at this point simply because I just began teaching at a new university in North Carolina and am moving the full time this coming year so it will be a lot of transition.  Any of the coordinator roles that you need filled would be just fine with me. I’m always happy to jump in and help build community.

I have taught screenwriting courses as an adjunct in Norfolk, Virginia since 2013, and as I mentioned, I’ve now been full-time for the past year. Personally, I am thrilled to finally be able to devote myself full-time to the craft and as such, I’d love to connect with more of us out there.

Please let me know if there’s anything you think would be a good fit.

Thank you!

Harvest Bellante

 

Response from Krystian Ramlogan <krystian.ramlogan@gmail.com>

I would be interested in any of the following roles:

 

Coordinator – Online Script Club (like a book club, but with scripts!) Monthly (or bi-monthly) discussion of screenplays.

  • I curate as many screenplays as I can yearly and read through as many as I can. I also mentor a few of my former students and we already have monthly meetups (virtually) where we discuss screenplays we’ve read (I chose the screenplay). At this point I have several 100s of screenplays in my google drive, so I could kick things off fairly easily

Coordinator – Create and coordinate a new working group on under-represented voices in Film & TV screenwriting.

  • I’m a minority so I would be interested in working with others on this.

Coordinator – Developing a syllabus for schools / educational programmes on screenwriting and the role of the screenwriter.

  • I do this at Dillard University, and while creating the perfect syllabus may be more aspirational than practical, I’m always seeking out new syllabi and textbooks to learn from and integrate into my practice.
  • I would also love to create some OER “books” moreso handouts that can work with various syllabii – like an intro/level 1 with handouts, intermediate/level 2 with handouts, etc. so basically a comprehensive set of instructional materials that any faculty could use

I am of course interested in working with others/collaborating on any of these or anything else that may come up from the group.

 

Thank you!

 

Krystian

 

 

Response from John Weston:

John Weston <john.weston.writing@gmail.com>

I am interested in coordinating either:

— a monthly online script club, or

— underrepresented voices in film & TV screenwriting group

(or sharing both roles with other people)

I am currently working as a freelance writer, communication coach and developmental editor. I have a PhD in sociolinguistics, I’m a qualified high school science teacher, and I now also have a postgraduate diploma in comedy screenwriting with a few BBC radio sketch and joke credits.

I’m interested in reading more scripts, talking to other writers and readers and editors of screenplays, and networking at the interfaces of academia and industry.

I come from a southeast London white working class family, and I am interested in identifying and challenging barriers to diversity and inclusion in film and TV writing and research.

Thanks very much!

Best wishes,

John Weston

 

 

Alexis K’s recommendation for a group gathering female professors of screenwriting….

 

SRN Executive Minutes – June 2024

MINUTES

Monday, June 17,2024

Circulation list: Rosanne Welch (RW), Rose Ferrell (RF), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Anna Weinstein (AW), Lucien Georgescu (LG).  ECR Clarissa Miranda (CM), Hugo Armando Arcinega (HA)

 

  1. Apologies–IGA

 

  1. Welcome Hugo as Asst. ECR!– Hugo is happy to join and support the organization. RW reminds him to send his photo and bio.

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting (April)–RF motions to approve, RW seconds

 

  1. JC: Update on SRN2024. Reminder to all EC members to pay registration – soon and begin booking travel. Discussion of who is staying where and what will be a good EC meeting day during conference. Jan’s report “- Conference – I have been a bit bogged down in preparations over the last few weeks due to end of semester obligations. We have exams this week, so we will start to focus more on the conference again at the end of May at the latest.

 

Some of the things that have happened in the last few weeks include a) the payment gateway is up and running and fees are coming in, b) received a grant from the Czech Film Fund which will allow us to involve the Czech National Film Archive and the Czech Screenwriters Association in the conference, c) we have lunches arranged for the participants and are working on arranging coffee breaks.

ALL accepted proposals on the website, b) payment gateway opened for the conference dinner. Venue?

–JC reports that they are still working on funding and programming. Next step will be breaking the papers down into panels. JC reports on four keynote speakers lined up, and two movies for the evening program, which will be good to introduce the film industry. RW asks about purchasing for the conference dinner. JC says payment gateway for the dinner will be out this week or next; will be 45 euros.

—-LG asking about recording the presentations at the conference. LC wants to meet Jan’s colleague so he can find out what she’s planning to do so he can plan for how to help. LC will put them in touch.

–AGM meeting: RW reminds the EC to prepare individual reports for the first week of Aug so she can add to the PowerPoint for the AGM. RW says we’ll likely have the AGM on the Thursday during conference week, but we can decide at our Aug EC meeting.

 

  1. JC: Newsletter Update – – Newsletter – will go out in June. If you have any information, please send it to me by the end of May. Suggestions for future issues?

–JC says the letter will be ready to go out this week (Wed). Also re Heidi’s proposal: her project is not funded this year from government funding but received high points; she will apply again next year.

 

  1. JC – Suncana Tuskar email – cover letter attached to Agenda

–JC explains that Tuskar approached him via email; he hasn’t met her before, she wanted to participate in some way. AW will reply via email.

  1. IG: Update on publishing Top 5-10 suggestions/how they are being addressed from Membership Survey to listserve and also AGM.

–Will get update at the Aug meeting.

 

  1. IG/AW – Response from Craig Batty to call for Volunteers: “I’m not sure if this would be a formal leadership role or not – and honestly, I’m quite stretched for time these days to attend board meetings and suchlike – but I have been thinking about, and have been asked to consider setting up, a regular (maybe monthly or 6-weekly) drop in session/gathering for screenwriting PhD students. As you know, this is a big area of interest for me, and with my colleague over here I set up (in 2020) a similar online ‘hangout’ for creative writing PhD students. I’d say around 30 people have gone through this ‘support group’ now.

I regularly have PhD students from around the world, particularly the creative PhD students, writing to me to ask for advice. And I recently did a seminar for Romana Turina on the topic, which garnered interest. So I thought it was time to collect all of these people and queries into one international drop-in session (which over time could invite guest speakers, students presenting, etc.). I would run the group – and a colleague of mine over here, in creative writing and journalism (she currently runs the other one for Australian creative writing candidates), has offered to run it with me – we have both supervised many PhDs together and spark off each other well. It would be for PhD students only, not their supervisors, as they need a safe space to talk about what’s going on for them.”

–ALL agree this is an excellent idea/opportunity. RW will follow up with Craig.

  1. IG Membership thoughts – re: Kath Dooley’s suggestion of new ECR and RW’s suggestion of emailing our own networks to encourage new members.

–RW asks us to remind colleagues about joining the SRN. All agree.

 

  1. LG/RF: SRN Conversation #4 progress: Potsdam, London (& Leeds?) Need one done in the next month/6 weeks.–LG reports that it’s been challenging with so many people, been trying to get everyone together. They plan to have a conversation mid-July. Will have more to report at the Aug meeting.

 

  1. CM: Presentation of the report of monthly results of social media, and possible conference in Brazil in five years in the city of Florianópolis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

–CM is waiting to hear about the location, nobody will talk during the strike. Should have more details soon. (Profa. Dra. Gláucia Davino) Re social media, CM updates that she and Hugo are working together to prepare the posts.

 

  1. ALL: Election planning for 2025 – who needs to run again/how do we encourage more involvement in EC? AW – will/has email about running for positions in EC with stress on web management. Ask each EC member to suggest two academics from their home countries / related countries to consider running to have a bigger pool for voting.

–RF reminds us about Sandy Cameron from Australia, interested in running for the EC. RF says she will share his email with everyone on the EC. AW will send out a note today with an August 1st deadline. AW will not run for the EC again but will remain on the Teaching Innovation Award committee. LG has one more year, RW and RF will run again for another year. RW reminds us that someone has to be chair, and it shouldn’t be someone brand new. She will run for this year just to support the new chair (which should be someone already on the EC).

 

  1. AW – Teaching Awards – May 1st is deadline – Update on when decision expected?

–AW reports that she, Ian, and Ros met early June to discuss applications and firm up criteria; will review independently and meet again early July to make decisions. AW will email applicants July 15 to notify whether they are awarded. Announcement will be made at the Sept conference, followed by an email announcement to the membership. All agree that AW should ask the winners not to share the news publicly until after the Sept announcement.

 

  1. Take group photo

 

  1. RW – Book awards Update: Emailed for more article submissions – Paolo Russo nudged contributors to collection to submit. All submissions in both categories should be made directly to all the members of the Jury (see contact details below) by 15 July 2024. One new article came to judges.

 

  1. Start conversation on Succession planning/new ideas for EC. Good to invite Working group leaders every few months. Create a small FAQ to keep this institutional memory available for future conference organizers.

–RF reports re folders for the past conferences, photos and books of abstracts; Google drive, she sent an email with the link and password; drive has the documents and the photo app has the photos. She has set up the folders for each year. Reminder to sign out completely once we log out.

 

  1. Shall EC meet in July – optional for those who are free? August mtg will be to collect info to prepare AGM presentation.

–Group decides to meet July 22.

 

Date of next meeting(s):  Mondays same time –July 22, Aug. 19, Sept. 12 (in person at SRN2024).

 

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE SRN Executive Council

​As we plan for our next annual conference, this is a Call for Nominations to the SRN Executive Council. At the next AGM, several members will be elected to fill the expected vacancies and will serve for two academic years. The AGM will be held in September 2024 during the conference in Olomouc. (The exact date and time of the AGM is forthcoming.)
In order to stand for election: 
 
– Find two SRN members (a Proposer and a Seconder) who are willing to support your nomination. (You can be your own proposer.)
– You, your proposer, and seconder should be “members in good standing,” which means you must have formally signed up to the SRN at least one year ago – before 18 June 2023.
– Draft a Statement (max 250 words) to support your nomination. This typically includes a short bio and/or info about you, your main interests, your participation in the SRN, and why you wish to stand for election.
– You or your Proposer must submit the statement in support of your nomination to the Secretary of the Executive Council, Anna Weinstein, at least four weeks before the date of the election. To simplify the process this year, we suggest that you submit your nomination by August 1, 2024. Email: annaweinstein@hotmail.com OR aweinst6@kennesaw.edu.
If you are new to the SRN and do not yet know a member to ask to second your nomination, contact the Membership and Inclusion officer who can tell you the date you subscribed and is happy to second nominations for those genuinely interested in furthering the aims of the SRN as part of the Executive Council.
Once all nominations have been received and all “good standing” status confirmed: 
 
– The Secretary will make all nominations and statements available to the Membership no later than fourteen days before the date of the election (in early September).
– If nominations exceed vacancies, there shall be an election by secret ballot.
– From then on, all proceedings (including ballots, management of the election if held, and appointment of new members of the EC) will be impartially overseen by two Scrutineers, independent from the Executive Council.
– The results of the Elections will be announced at the close of the AGM and, subsequently, via our usual communications outlets (i.e., Jiscmail mailing list, SRN website and Facebook page).
Please consider standing for election! We can assure you it is a very pleasurable task, involving monthly chats online with lovely colleagues and light duties! You can get a sense of the roles on the Executive Council and what they entail by checking out the current members’ bios:
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Executive Council Secretary or any current or past member.
Sincerely,
Your SRN Executive Council

SRN Executive Minutes – May 2024

MINUTES

Tuesday, May 21,2024

Circulation list: Rosanne Welch (RW), Rose Ferrell (RF), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Anna Weinstein (AW), Lucien Georgescu (LG).  ECR Clarissa Miranda (CM)

 

  1. Apologies / Take group photo

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting (April)

    –LG approves; RF seconds

 

  1. JC: Update on SRN2024. Reminder to all EC members to pay registration – soon and begin booking travel. Discussion of who is staying where and what will be a good EC meeting day during conference. Jan’s report “- Conference – I have been a bit bogged down in preparations over the last few weeks due to end of semester obligations. We have exams this week, so we will start to focus more on the conference again at the end of May at the latest. Some of the things that have happened in the last few weeks include a) the payment gateway is up and running and fees are coming in, b) we received a grant from the Czech Film Fund which will allow us to involve the Czech National Film Archive and the Czech Screenwriters Association in the conference, c) we have lunches arranged for the participants and are working on arranging coffee breaks. For the near future, we expect to a) publish all accepted proposals on the website, b) open a payment gateway for the conference dinner.”

 

  1. JC: Newsletter Update – “- Newsletter – will go out in June. If you have any information, please send it to me by the end of May.” Suggestions for future issues?

 

  1. RW: EC meeting switch back to Mondays for June/August?

    –All agree to switch to Mondays.

 

  1. IG: presentation of email for members on Top 5-10 suggestions/how they are being addressed from Membership Survey. For listserve and also AGM.

    –IG shares a document that she created in Spanish for an SRN member who needed certification of her participation in SRN. IG suggests that we create a folder with this type of documentation in case other members need something similar. RW says this is an excellent idea as she has already been holding onto important files like this. RF will share access to the Google drive.

 

–IG shares the document she created for SRN membership to ask for volunteers for EC service opportunities, including online roles, working group roles, and other roles. RW suggests that we have interested members reach out to RW or AW if interested. AW suggests that we add to the next newsletter. RF offers to put it on the SRN website as well.

 

  1. LG/RF: SRN Conversation #4 progress: Potsdam, London (& Leeds?) Need one done in the next month/6 weeks.

    –LG updates that he has been speaking to Adam Ganz, also had suggestions for Steven Price, Rosamund Davies, and Jill Nelmes. He thinks four will be too many for one interview. RW thinks Rosamund would likely be interested, so perhaps Adam and Rosamund for this summer’s interviews. RF thinks more would be better, more perspectives and more on screen. LG will follow up with AG and others to plan this summer’s interview.

 

  1. CM: Presentation of the report of monthly results of social media, and possible conference in Brazil in five years in the city of Florianópolis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

    — CM shares that she cannot speak with the professor who will be helping with her conference right now because the faculty is on strike, but she has already spoken with him and he’s very interested. She will have more updates next month.

 

  1. RW: Upcoming Elections: Role descriptions from Rose posted. Roman Turina planning to run for EC.  ECR position update: Asked Anubha Yadov (too busy with dissertation).  CM reports that Hugo Armando Arcinega with be joining as ECR; currently studying our social media posts and will join us at the next meeting. Rose contacted Steven Maras who suggested: Joachim Strand.

    –RW asks whether we should have two ECRs or ask Joachim if he would like to join next year. RF thinks this is a good idea – one additional ECR working with CM is best for now. RW says since CM will run for the full EC for next year, she would step off the ECR role. As of now, CM and Romana Turina intend to run; RW will also rerun but not to as chair, rather to serve as succession to help the new chair. RF would like to stay one more year to help the next web person, asks if she needs to officially run. AW says she too will stay another year as needed to help the next secretary but will not rerun, rather stay on in the capacity of Teaching Innovation Award judge. IGA clarifies that we might have an official call for EC members in June with an August deadline as we did last year.

 

  1. ALL: Election planning for 2025 – who needs to run again/how do we encourage more involvement in EC? AW – schedule email about running for positions in EC with stress on web management. Ask each EC member to suggest two academics from their home countries / related countries to consider running to have a bigger pool for voting.

 

  1. AW – Teaching Awards – May 1st is deadline – give 2 more weeks.

–AW shares that they have received six or so applications. The awards committee will meet twice to review and discuss applicants. AW will email applicants to suggest that they send along any missing materials within the week.

 

  1. RW – Book awards Update: From Carmen Sofia Brenes: “We have received one chapter and five books. Re the articles and books, my colleagues and I think that we received enough books, but it would be great if more submissions of articles and Chapters can still come.”– so let’s repost about the Awards – All submissions in both categories should be made directly to all the members of the Jury (see contact details below) by 15 July 2024.

 

  1. AW/RF – Took over the list of all the books mentioned in the December listserve email about books to use in classes? Add that to the website. Build off of Camila C A Agustini: “I copied all the suggestions from this list in a Google Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTjkzeZ_OYCMJCaaABAO0SJbFvTPJt-tT9IakIUiA18/edit –Also, Update on collecting e-booklets of abstracts from each conference to post on website?

 

–RF added these to the website, as well as other terrific resources. To access the booklist, members navigate to the Resources tab, then Links, and then: “The list of Storytelling Academic Books recommended by SRN  Members is here: Storytelling Academic Books.”

 

  1. RF – Where are we at with Leeds listserve dropping people? “You have been automatically removed from the SCREENWRITING-RESEARCH-NETWORK list (Screenwriting Research Network) as a result of repeated delivery error reports from your mail system.

This decision was based on the list’s automatic error monitoring policy and
has not been reviewed or otherwise confirmed by a person. If you receive
this message, then it means that something is wrong. While you are
obviously able to receive mail, your mail system has been regularly
reporting that your account did not exist, or that you were otherwise
permanently unable to receive mail. Here is some information that may
assist you or your local help desk in determining the cause of the
problem:
– The failing address is [left blank]
– The first error was reported on 2024-03-21.
– Since then, a total of 5 delivery errors have been received.
– The last reported error was: 5.0.0 550 Rejected – Content Policy
Please do not ignore this message. While you can re-subscribe to the
list, it is important for you to report this problem to your mail
administrator so that it can be solved. This problem is not specific to
the SCREENWRITING-RESEARCH-NETWORK list and may also affect your private mail. This means that you may have lost some private mail as well. Anyone trying to write to you during the same time frame might have received the same errors for the same reason

–RF has no updates on this problem this month.

 

  1. JC: Any updates on Heidi Philipsen international project? “- The Heidi Philipsen project is still in the evaluation process at this time. European projects are assessed sometimes for more than half a year, so it may still take some time. Heidi should be attending a conference in Olomouc and by then there should be clarity on funding, so this may be an opportunity to discuss the details of the collaboration directly with her as PI. However, it is still the case that the SRN and the newly formed working group should serve as a platform for testing and disseminating the software (and ideas) of sustained screenwriting.”

 

  1. Start conversation on Succession planning/new ideas for EC. Good to invite Working group leaders every few months

    –RW says we should discuss in June how we run elections for EC members who are willing to serve in the capacity of assisting those newly appointed.

 

  1. The EC should consider creating a small FAQ to keep this institutional memory available for future conference organizers.

 

Date of next meeting(s):  Mondays same time –June 17, July 22 (off), Aug. 19, Sept. 12 (in person at SRN2024).

 

SRN Executive Minutes – April 2024

MINUTES

Tuesday, April 23,2024

Circulation list: Rosanne Welch (RW), Rose Ferrell (RF), Jan Cernik (JC), Isadora Garcia Avis (IGA), Anna Weinstein (AW), Lucien Georgescu (LG).  ECR Clarissa Miranda (CM)

 

  1. Apologies / Take group photo–JC

 

  1. Approval of Minutes of previous meeting (February)–LG approves, RW seconds

 

  1. JC: Update on SRN2024. Reminder to all EC members to pay registration – soon. J–We will return to this at the May meeting.

 

  1. JC: Newsletter Update – thanks for the latest issue – next deadline? Suggestions for future issues?

 

  1. ECR position update after the AGM: Matt Kirton, Lecturer in Creative Writing, DMU–RW reports that the gentleman who was considering the position hasn’t gotten back to her. RW asks that we all think about who we know that could be a good candidate. RW and RF suggest that a member with a PhD or MFA would work for the position. CM suggests that Diego’s new MFA program might be a good starting place to find a candidate. IGA suggests that we consider sending out an announcement to the listserve.

 

  1. IG: presentation of email for members on Top 5-10 suggestions/how they are being addressed from Membership Survey. For listserve and also AGM.

–IGA has had a busy month, but she will work on the suggestions this month.

 

  1. CM: Presentation of the report of monthly results of social media, and possible conference in Brazil in five years in the city of Florianópolis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

–CM reports that she is scheduling a team with the university mid-May. She will have an update next month. She has been exchanging emails with the screenwriter that they are hoping to bring.

 

  1. LG/RF: SRN Conversation #4 progress: Potsdam, London (& Leeds?)

–LG reports that RF has done a terrific job. The list includes Kerstin Stutterheim, Adam Ganz, and Ian Macdonald. At this point, they are working on timing. LG asks if a 1:1 with Adam would be a good idea. RW says 1:1 confirms this is a good idea, but the conference oral histories need to have at least 2-3 interviewees. 1:1 with founding members is a terrific idea for additional oral histories. RF suggests Steven Price and Rosalie Davies as the second and third potential interviews for the summer or at the conference.

 

  1. RF – Where are we at with Leeds listserve dropping people? “You have been automatically removed from the SCREENWRITING-RESEARCH-NETWORK list (Screenwriting Research Network) as a result of repeated delivery error reports from your mail system.

This decision was based on the list’s automatic error monitoring policy and
has not been reviewed or otherwise confirmed by a person. If you receive
this message, then it means that something is wrong. While you are
obviously able to receive mail, your mail system has been regularly
reporting that your account did not exist, or that you were otherwise
permanently unable to receive mail. Here is some information that may
assist you or your local help desk in determining the cause of the
problem:
– The failing address is [left blank]
– The first error was reported on 2024-03-21.
– Since then, a total of 5 delivery errors have been received.
– The last reported error was: 5.0.0 550 Rejected – Content Policy
Please do not ignore this message. While you can re-subscribe to the
list, it is important for you to report this problem to your mail
administrator so that it can be solved. This problem is not specific to
the SCREENWRITING-RESEARCH-NETWORK list and may also affect your private mail. This means that you may have lost some private mail as well. Anyone trying to write to you during the same time frame might have received the same errors for the same reason

–RF reports that she followed up with Leeds, and they are not finding anything wrong technically. RF thinks it’s an AI problem. IGA suggests that it might the user’s email server.

 

  1. AW/RF – Took over the list of all the books mentioned in the December listserve email about books to use in classes? Add that to the website. Build off of Camila C A Agustini: “I copied all the suggestions from this list in a Google Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BTjkzeZ_OYCMJCaaABAO0SJbFvTPJt-tT9IakIUiA18/edit –Also, Update on collecting e-booklets of abstracts from each conference to post on website?–RF hasn’t had a chance to find and compile the abstracts, but she will work on that in the coming months. RF asks that we all send her materials that we have.

 

  1. ALL: Election planning for 2025 – who needs to run again/how do we encourage more involvement in EC? AW – schedule email about running for positions in EC with stress on web management. . Ask each EC member to suggest two academics from their home countries / related countries to consider running to have a bigger pool for voting.

–RW suggests that we include the invitation for the ECR to this email. LG suggests that we write a brief description of the role. RF reminds us that she wrote brief descriptions of the different positions on the board. We will all review and add any additions/changes.

 

  1. JC: Any updates on Heidi Philipsen international project?–We will return to this at the May meeting.

 

  1. Start conversation on Succession planning–We will return to this at the May meeting.

 

  1. The EC should consider creating a small FAQ to keep this institutional memory available for future conference organizers.

 

  1. Other business – RW giving Comparative Screenwriting lecture tomorrow (Wed, April 28 at 10am Los Angeles time)–AW reminds EC about Teaching Innovation Awards. Already have several submissions with emails from members saying they intend to submit. All agree we should extend deadline to May 15, and AW should send out one more announcement.

 

Date of next meeting(s):  Tuesdays same time – May 21, June 18, July 23, Aug. 20, Sept. 13 (in person at SRN2024).