The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) on Wednesday announced the six participants selected for the inaugural year of The Cohort, a new program from the WGC’s IDEA Committee supporting emerging to mid-level members from diverse backgrounds.
The annual initiative pairs each participant with an experienced WGC member for mentorship focused on rewriting and polishing an original script. Participants will also take part in workshops and group sessions with showrunners, screenwriters and other industry professionals.
The six-month program concludes with a stakeholder event where participants can promote themselves and their scripts to industry decision-makers.
“We are very excited about this new venture, and based on the volume of applications we received, it’s clear our members are hungry for a curated program like The Cohort to further their writing careers,” Anthony Q. Farrell, chair of the IDEA Committee, said in a press release. “We are looking forward to working with this first group to create a foundation that will benefit writers for years to come.”
The inaugural cohort includes: Kristina Fithern-Stiele, a writer and filmmaker working in Calgary; Amir Kahnamouee, an Iranian-Canadian writer and actor based in Toronto; Celeste Koon, a mixed-race (Chinese/Caucasian) writer with a focus on children’s media and animation, based in Toronto; Gorrman Lee, a Chinese-Canadian screenwriter from Vancouver; Berend McKenzie, a Toronto-based playwright, screenwriter, actor and published author; and Reem Morsi, an Egyptian-Canadian writer-director and former UN human rights officer, currently based in Toronto.
More information about the 2026 participants of The Cohort is available here.
Photos of (l-r): Kristina Fithern-Stiele, Amir Kahnamouee, Celeste Koon; Gorrman Lee, Berend McKenzie, Reem Morsi; via the Writers Guild of Canada
