2026 WISCONSIN SCREENWRITERS’ SYMPOSIUM
April 10-12th at the Pyle Center on the Campus of UW-Madison
EVENT AND SCHEDULE DETAILS
Workshops and Panels on Friday (4/10), 1:00p-6:00p, Pyle Center 325
- 1:00-2:15 – Screenwriting That Gets Read: Writing Skills and Techniques That Will Get You Past the Gatekeepers with Michael Graf
- 2:30-3:45 – Writing Loglines That Wow workshop with Max Timm
- 4:00-5:15 – Adapting Intellectual Property (IP) Panel with Hinderaker, Graf and Rothenberg (moderated by Kurz)
- 5:30-6:30 – State of the Industry: Making it WI with Pope, Jones and Kurz
- 6:30 – Informal networking at Memorial Union following the day’s schedule
Workshops and Panels on Saturday (4/11), 9:00a-5:45p, Pyle Center 325
- 9:00-10:15a – Coffee and Creative: Where Ideas Come From with Hausmann-Stokes, Timm and Miyamoto (moderated by Spindler)
- 10:30-11:45a – Managers, Agents, Reps Oh My with Jones, Miyamoto and Schiefelbein (moderated by Graf)
- 12:00-1:15p – Writers’ Roundtables: Lunch Break
- 1:30-2:45p – Character Driven Writing for Indie Features with Hausmann-Stokes, Greer and Graf (moderated by Bandt)
- 3:00-4:15p – Writing for TV Today with Rothenberg, Schiefelbein and Hinderaker (moderated by Brenner)
- 4:30-5:30p – Pitch-a-palooza with Rothenberg, Schiefelbein and Brenner
WSS Reception and Networking event on Saturday (4/11), 5:30p-7:30p, AT&T Lounge in the Pyle Center
Live Table Read on Sunday (4/12), 10:00a-12:00p, Pyle Center 335
- 10:00a-12:00p – Wisconsin’s Own Screenplay Contest Winner: Mistakes table read AND Searchers, Episode 2 – TV Writers’ Room Workshop table read
Presenters and Guests: Andrew Hinderaker (Black Rabbit), Jason Rothenberg (The 100), Nikki Schiefelbein (The Ranch), Kyle Hausmann-Stokes (My Dead Friend Zoe), Deidre Brenner (Rick and Morty), Jeffrey Kurz (Deep Woods), Noah Jones (Forward Management), Ken Miyamoto (Taken in Plain Sight), Michael Graf (Green and Gold), Aaron Greer (Service to Man), Max Timm (Story Farm), and Veronica Pope (Film Wisconsin Director).
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
April 10th 1:00-2:15 – Screenwriting That Gets Read with Michael Graf
Never written a screenplay or need a refresher? Can’t get your screenplay past the gatekeepers? Finished your first draft and not sure what to do next? Award-winning screenwriter Michael Graf (Green and Gold) will take you through the fundamental skills you need for writing an effective, industry-ready script. From act structure, to formatting, to writing punchy dialog and action: get going with Graf.
April 10th 2:30-3:45 – Loglines That Wow with Max Timm
You’ve got a great idea, maybe even a great script, how do you get people to give it a chance? What are the two magic sentences you need to get your script read or your pitch heard? The secret is often a great logline. In this workshop with professional script consultant Max Timm (Story Farm), you’ll learn how to write an intriguing logline and get your audience to turn the page. Bring your ideas, bring your loglines, and work with Timm to get your story idea read(y).
April 10th 4:00-5:15 – Adapting IP with Hinderaker, Graf and Rothenberg
So much of the film and TV we see started as a book, a play, a video game, or some other intellectual property (IP). What is the industry’s attraction to IP? How do you get your IP (novel, article, etc.) adapted to the screen? How do you adapt someone else’s? Join a panel of experts, all of whom have worked in adaptation, for a conversation about the challenges and opportunities in translating IP to the screen.
April 10th 5:30-6:30 – State of the Industry with Pope, Jones and Kurz
The film and TV industry shifts every year—where things are made, how things are made, who is making them—and writers need to stay abreast of all these changes. Whether preparing to produce something here in Wisconsin using the new tax incentives, or looking at the Industry writ-large, this State of the Industry conversation will help answer your questions about where we are and where we’re going.
April 10th 6:30 – Informal Networking at Memorial Union Terrace
April 11th 9:00-10:15a – Coffee and Creative: Generating Ideas with Hausmann-Stokes, Timm, and Miyamoto
Where do good script ideas come from? How do you mine the world around you for story gold? How are writers experimenting with AI to generate, test or research their stories? Join us for coffee and conversation about creating new ideas. Share your own approaches and hear from produced writers about where some of their best ideas have come from. NOTE: Coffee, tea, bagels, fruit and pastries provided or feel free to bring your own breakfast.
April 11th 10:30-11:45a – Managers, Agents, Reps Oh My with Jones, Miyamoto and Schiefelbein
Do you have an agent? Do you need one? What is the difference between a manager and agent? How do you work with them and how can you work without them? Who are the other people who help writers develop their stories or get their projects produced? Join us for a conversation between a manager and two writers (with and without agents) about the often-mysterious world of the people behind the people.
April 11th 12:00-1:15p – Writers Roundtables: Lunch Break
Break bread and swap stories in a luncheon with other writers and symposium guests, or use the time to process the previous sessions, get some air, and refresh for the afternoon. NOTE: preregistration and prepurchase required for the box lunch and/or writers’ roundtable lunch sessions.
April 11th 1:30-2:45p – Character Driven with Hausmann-Stokes, Greer and Graf
Action may be the sizzle, but character is the steak, particularly in indie and dramatic films. What makes a film or TV character compelling and three-dimensional? What keeps a character-driven film moving plot-wise and moving emotionally? What clues do actors draw from a script to create their characters on screen? Examine the content of your character(s) with a panel of produced screenwriters and indie filmmakers.
April 11th 3:00-4:15p – Writing TV Today with Rothenberg, Schiefelbein and Hinderaker
Interested in writing for TV? Wondering what that even means anymore? How is writing for small screens (and increasingly for second screens) different? How has the move to prestige TV shows, and the contraction of writers’ rooms changed the craft? From broadcast to streaming, binging to staggered release, join this panel of TV writers and producers for a conversation about writing for the TV of today.
April 11th 4:30-5:30p – Pitch-a-palooza with Rothenberg, Schiefelbein and Brenner
If you had just 3 minutes to pitch your script to the head of development at A24 or the chief content officer at Netflix, what would you do? Watch the five finalists from the Wisconsin’s Own Pitch Contest share their stories live in an “elevator pitch,” to a panel of professionals. Hear about the projects these storytellers have dreamed up, learn from the panel’s feedback, and vote for your favorite pitch in this fun, freewheeling event.
April 11th 5:30p-7:30p – WSS Reception and Mixer in the AT&T Lounge
Join with other writers, industry guests and symposium attendees at a casual mixer in the lovely AT&T Lounge. Debrief and chat. Make new friends and seed new collaborations. Snack on some light bites and grab a drink at the cash bar. Celebrate the spirit of creativity and community at the 2026 Wisconsin Screenwriters’ Symposium.
April 12th 10:00a-11:00a – WOSC Winning Script: Mistake a Live Table Read
Nothing is better than hearing your dialogue performed for the first time by a talented actor. There’s no better way to evaluate a script than to have it read out loud. Join us for brunch and a live table read of John McGuigan’s short script, Mistake, the winning screenplay from this year’s Wisconsin’s Own Screenplay Contest. Witness the script “performed” by professional actors. Hear from McGuigan about what’s next with the project. NOTE: Coffee, juice, bagels and pastries provided.
April 12th 11:00-12:00p – Searchers, Episode 2 – TV Writers’ Workshop Table Read
Showrunner Jason Rothenberg (The 100) led a group of local writers on a whirlwind journey to write a spec episode of his show Searchers in the pre-Symposium TV Writers’ Room Workshop. Join us for a table read of the collabo-written Searchers, Episode 2 script these writers created and hear about their experiences in the Workshop, learning to write as a group and write for TV.