Former TV Executive turned screenwriter and script consultant, Shannan is a quitter and a hater. An 80s baby, she didn’t know Hollywood existed until her mother sent her a magazine article about a black, female TV writer during the last semester of her senior year in college. She was later redirected from writing to development due to her ability to see plot holes like math equations and easily solve them. So, Shannan became a TV executive through the NBCU Entertainment Associates program at The Syfy Channel.

Then, she quit. For 8 years, Shannan toured the world in dance companies (Step Afrika!, Sole DEFINED) and Broadway shows (Ghost, Amazing Grace). Didn't see that coming, huh? When she returned to L.A. to recharge her executive career, her access to Hollywood – the largest gated community in the world – was denied. So, she built The Professional Pen, the first black-owned script consultancy, to develop screenwriters and streamline scripted teams’ development processes.

As a professional hater, Shannan provides straight-shot, no-chaser feedback to screenwriters and analysis on produced works to teach screenwriting via TPP’s social media channels.

Partnership Highlights: The Syfy Channel, Amazon Prime Studios, FOX Writers Incubator, ScreenCraft, The Hallmark Media, Florida State University, New York Film Academy, Stage 32

Fun Facts:
Hometown: Houston, TX
Favorite Film: THE BEST MAN written by Malcolm D. Lee
Favorite Screenplay: A QUIET PLACE written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Favorite Series: “Friday Night Lights” developed by Peter Berg

Sold writer and multi-fellowship alum, PAGES (They/He) is a genderqueer med-school dropout turned award-winning film-poet and agent of imagination, writing poems and high-concept dramas centering stubborn characters and stories of defying the odds through their Black, Queer, and immigrant perspective.

They are a National Poetry Slam and Southern Fried Champion, a GLAAD Black Queer Creatives Fellow, a Callaloo Fellow at Brown University, and the author of three books, including “The Heart of Comet (Write Bloody).” Their work is fueled by Toni Morrison’s words: “The function of freedom is to free someone else.” They have also been featured by TEDx, Macy’s, the Apollo, Essence, and KeyTV by Keke Palmer, among many other platforms. Their short film, SEVEN MINUTES OF HEAVEN?, produced by SuperSpecial, earned multiple laurels on the festival circuit.

When they’re not fiercely working on their next screenplay or poetry manuscript, they practice trauma-informed work as a teaching artist in Los Angeles (Tongva Land). They are a full-time artist, performer, and organizer who loves gummy bears, fried plantains, and battle-horror anime

Highlighted Accomplishments: 1hr fantasy TV drama (EP Lily Wachowski (THE MATRIX)) in development with ITV & Anarchists United, Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery fellow, John Singleton x PAFF short film prize finalist, CANNES Diversity Showcase

Fun Facts:
Hometown: Born and raised in Cameroon, Central Africa then blossomed in the DMV (Piscataway Land)
Favorite Film: MOONLIGHT written by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue
Favorite Screenplay: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE written by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan
Favorite Series: “Interview with a Vampire” developed by Rolin Jones, based on “The Vampire Chronicle"s” by Anne Rice

Working writer and master teacher, Carlton Allen (He/him) is a young mixed kid from South Los Angeles, who enjoyed escaping into good movies and television on a regular basis. He never dreamed he could one day do that as a job. Several years later during a business communication class at the University of Arizona, Carlton heard a classmate give a speech about screenwriting. The very next day, he switched his major from business to communication with the goal of writing and producing television and feature length films.

Carlton's passion is to create unique stories with diverse voices all wrapped up in a thought-provoking yet entertaining package.  To date, Carlton has written dozens of specs, original pilots, and features, placing in such competitions as The Austin Film Festival and Final Draft’s Big Break.

As Carlton traverses the screenwriting industry, he takes on writing gigs to keep his skills sharp. He was hired to write a CRM sales-focused interactive simulation for training and hiring practices where he crafted the story, outcome-based scenes based on player options, and wrote the dialogue for all the NPC’s (Non-Player Characters).

Carlton also recently published a short book of fun facts and the history of tennis.  A passion project, Pocket Guide of Fun Facts About Tennis gave him an opportunity to learn about online publishing. Both of these projects had their own set of challenges, just like learning and growing in screenwriting, but it's always worth the reward. They both opened his eyes to the type of work that’s available to writers while we work like hell to make it in Hollywood.

Highlights: (Production) Warner Bros. Nickelodeon, FOX and CBS (Teaching) Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM, FIAT and Toyota

Fun Facts:
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Favorite Film: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND written by Charlie Kauffman
Favorite Screenplay: BLACK PANTHER written by Joe Robert Cole & Ryan Coogler based on the Marvel Comics by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
Favorite Series: “The Big Bang Theory” created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady