Harvardwood HIGHLIGHTS - September 2026
- 13 hours ago
- 21 min read
In this issue:
MESSAGE FROM HARVARDWOOD
NEWS
Announcing the Winner of the Jonathan Sethna Harvardwood LGBTQ+ Fellowship
Harvardwood TIFF Meet-Up
Fall applications are open for the Jeff Sagansky Harvardwood TV Writers Program, Virtual Features Group, LA Features Group, and NY Features Group
Seeking Submissions for the Harvardwood Actors Collective
Harvardwood 101 - Applications open September 8
Featured Job: Writer / Producer at WWE
FEATURES
Harvardwood Profile: Rohit Deshpande (HBS Faculty Member)
Industry News
Exclusive Q&A with Claudia Hinz AB '90 (author)
CALENDAR & NOTES
Weekly Freewriting Sessions
The Business of Entertainment: Fireside Chat between VERSANT CFO & COO Anand Kini and Harvardwood Treasurer Gene Pao
Stop Writing! Build the Right Story Before You Draft
Harvardwood Lowdown (introducing our new Harvardwood Vice President!)
Last Month at Harvardwood
Want to submit your success(es) to Harvardwood HIGHLIGHTS? Do so by posting here!
Congratulations to the winner of the Jonathan Sethna Harvardwood LGBTQ+ Fellowship, Rachel Harner!
Harvardwood is meeting up at TIFF! Let us know if you'll be there so we can invite you to something really awesome. Fall applications are open for Jeff Sagansky Harvardwood TV Writers Program, Virtual Features Group, LA Features Group, and NY Features Group! And whatever other group you want! Just apply! We're also seeking submissions for the Harvardwood Actors Collective, if you're into that sort of thing.
Join us for The Business of Entertainment: VERSANT CFO & COO Anand Kini and Harvardwood Treasurer Gene Pao, or Stop Writing! Build the Right Story Before You Draft, or the Harvardwood Lowdown where we will be unveiling our new Harvardwood Vice President! Can you even handle the excitement??
As always, if you have an idea for an event or programming, please tell us about it here. If you have an announcement about your work or someone else's, please share it here (members) and it will appear in our Weekly and/or next HIGHLIGHTS issue.
Best wishes,
Grace Shi
Operations and Communications
Announcing the Winner of the 2026-2027 Jonathan Sethna Harvardwood LGBTQ+ Fellowship
Harvardwood is thrilled to announce the winner of this year's Jonathan Sethna Harvardwood LGBTQ+ Fellowship for projects that elevate LGBTQ+ characters, themes, and stories by creatives and screenwriters who are Harvard University alumni.
Raised in the rainy backwoods of Washington State, Rachel Harner AB ’17 (she/her) is a queer screenwriter, playwright, and producer, whose plays have been performed in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, including as part of PlayGround-LA's "Best Of" showcase, SFWA’s Nebula Conference, and the LA Fringe Festival. As a screenwriter, she’s penned several feature rom-coms and is currently developing an original TV series with a major studio. As a producer, she's developed television and film projects with companies including Netflix, Amazon, AMC, and NBC, as well as producing the iHeart podcast, Mission Implausible. Her work frequently features rural settings, queer characters, and a heavy dose of sci-fi.
Rachel will be developing a 10-episode video science fiction podcast.
Harvardwood TIFF Meet-Up
Attending the Toronto International Film Festival this year? Please email admin@harvardwood.org so we can organize a member meetup during the festival, running September 10 to September 20, 2026.
APPLY NOW to the Jeff Sagansky Harvardwood TV Writers Program
The deadline to submit for the Fall 2026 Jeff Sagansky Harvardwood TV Writers Program is Friday, September 18th at 11:59 pm PT!
The Jeff Sagansky Harvardwood TV Writers Program uses peer review, guest speakers, and weekly workshops to foster a motivating and supportive environment for each participant’s writing. Participants will be placed in a genre-specific module (half-hour, hourlong, rewrite etc.) where writers read and provide personalized feedback for each other, supervised by experienced Module Leaders. Throughout the semester, guest speakers, panels, and social events supplement the workshop experience and help build a collaborative and meaningful community out here in Hollyweird and beyond. In other words, “Come for the deadlines, stay for the friends.”
The 10-week program culminates in a “pitch panel” event where participants have the opportunity to pitch their HWP project to industry veterans, receive feedback on their concept, and practice the art of pitching.
Harvardwood Writers Program - LA/NY/Virtual Features Group Applications Open
“Way better and cheaper than most MFA screenwriting classes” — A happy HWP participant
The Harvardwood Writers Program (or HWP) supports aspiring and seasoned screenwriters through peer-reviewed writing sessions, professional development workshops, practice pitch events, social gatherings, and more! We currently have two types of offerings:
1) HWP Groups, which meet monthly from September to May
2) HWP Intensives, which meet weekly for about 10-12 weeksThe Group applications for the 2026-2027 cycle are now open.
You can choose from the Virtual Features Group (VFG) or location-specific Features Groups in Boston (TV/Features), LA, or NY. The deadline to submit is Friday, September 18th at 11:59 pm PT!
Boston Features Group - sessions will resume in October 2026
Seeking Submissions for the Harvardwood Actors Collective
A gathering of supportive actors looking to exercise their craft and keep their instruments limber, the Harvardwood Actors Collective holds monthly play reading events, celebrating works both old and new! Join us, and get back to why you love doing this in the first place… bringing great texts to life.
This program is open to professional working actors and MFA actors who are Full Harvardwood Members (Friends of Harvardwood are ineligible).
If interested, please submit the following, by September 20, to programs@harvardwood.org:
Your headshot
Your acting resume
Your reel (if you have one)
A list of plays you’d love to read out loud (optional)
Harvardwood 101 - Applications open September 8
Calling all undergrads! Curious about a career in entertainment? Join us in Los Angeles this January for Harvardwood 101, our annual career exploration program that demystifies Hollywood and connects students with alumni in the industry.
During Boot Camp Week (January 4 - 9, 2027), you'll hear directly from industry insiders, attend interactive panels, and meet Harvard alumni at top companies like Amazon, HBO/Max, UTA, and more. You can also apply for a Winternship (Jan 11–22) to gain behind-the-scenes experience through informal positions at entertainment companies or with individual industry professionals.
Applications open September 8 and close October 18 at 11:59pm ET.
Don’t miss the Info Session on September 17 at 4pm ET!
More details HERE.
Featured Job: Writer / Producer at WWE
Job Description:
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company that owns iconic properties including UFC, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; and PBR, the world's premier bull riding organization. TKO reaches 1 billion households across 210 countries and territories and organizes more than 500 live events year-round, attracting over three million fans. WWE develops and produces 52 weeks of original programming for its long-running weekly episodic television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, combining action, drama, reality, comedy, and adventure, with a focus on compelling stories portrayed by charismatic and diverse characters. TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, a leading global sports marketing agency, and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality.
Alumni Profile: Rohit Deshpande (HBS Faculty Member)
by Laura Frustaci AB ’21
Rohit Deshpandé is a Baker Foundation Professor and Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus at Harvard Business School, where he has been teaching in the Advanced Management Program, the General Management Program, the Program for Leadership Development, the Owner/President Management Program and in other executive education offerings. He is currently teaching ethical leadership in the General Management Program, a module on The Purpose of the Firm in the required curriculum of the MBA program, and a field/project-based course "Business of the Arts" in the MBA elective program. He has also taught global branding, international marketing, and first year marketing in the MBA program as well as a doctoral seminar in marketing management. He is the faculty chair of the Global Colloquium for Participant-Centered Learning and has previously been coordinator for Marketing faculty recruiting, coordinator for Marketing doctoral program admissions, and faculty chair of the Strategic Marketing Management executive program at Harvard Business School. He is also the faculty chair for Harvard Business School South Asia research. In addition to teaching marketing, he was a part of the design and delivery team that created the Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA) MBA required course at HBS focusing on ethics and corporate governance and was faculty chair of the LCA in India executive program. In 2008-2009 Deshpande was recognized as the Henry B. Arthur Fellow for Business Ethics and in 2015 received the Robert F. Greenhill award for outstanding contributions to the HBS community. Most recently his case studies on "Terror at the Taj" and "Street Symphony" have won Silver Telly Awards and his co-authored paper "Consumers avoid buying from firms with higher CEO-to-worker pay ratios" won the 2021 Journal of Consumer Psychology Park Best Paper Award.
HBS Faculty member Rohit Deshpande is approaching his 30th year anniversary teaching at Harvard. Originally recruited to teach international marketing because the school lacked anyone who specialized in that field, he began to write case studies that would be used in the classroom. He traveled internationally and looks back fondly on that time. He also recalls how he was “part of a team of faculty that developed the first required ethics course.”
To this day, Rohit teaches ethics, now in executive programs. But he also more recently became involved in the intersection of the business world with the art world, to his surprise. “About ten years ago,” Rohit recalls, “Yo-Yo [Ma AB ’76] said to me, ‘Your MBA students are doing wonderful things for businesses. They should do something for the arts.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, they should do something for arts and culture. And you know what, I think you'd be the perfect person to teach a course.” Rohit protested, claiming not to know anything about the arts. He remembers telling Yo-Yo, “I have no talent. I'm a big fan of the arts, but I don’t even play an instrument.” But Yo-Yo held firm that Rohit should carve out a path for his students to “help Boston-area arts organizations pro bono.”
Rewind to 1993, when HBS had started the Social Enterprise Initiative for students who were interested in nonprofit careers and sought to apply business concepts to nonprofits. Rather than attending the Kennedy School, those students had enrolled at the Business School. So Rohit decided to pilot something similar, but for cultural entrepreneurship. It started with ideas being tested in an executive program. Rohit developed a one-week program for the C-suite of Sotheby's that went swimmingly. After speaking with Henry McGee (AB ’74 MBA ’79), they had the idea to co-design a program specifically for HBS MBA students.
Business of the Arts, otherwise known as BOTA, is now in its eighth year. “It's a full semester, full graded course,” Rohit explains, “and what we do is source interesting problems that are all revenue-generating, from local Boston area arts organizations. Our clients, we call them 'partners'', have included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Ballet, the American Repertory Theater, the Harvard Art Museums, and so on. We recruit them, and we post the projects, and the students in the class rank order them based on their preference, and we form teams based on the ranks.” That way, students are able to engage with areas or organizations they feel particularly passionate about. “We have a few in-class sessions where we teach case studies.” Rohit says. “But mostly the students spend their time working on these projects. And it's a win-win for us, because these organizations don't have the budget or the bandwidth… and so [these students] put their considerable talent into these projects. It's free, for the organization, and for the students, they get a grade.”
Examples of past projects include how to be more effective with food and beverages at the symphony, how to monetize streaming during the pandemic, how to rebrand the Handel and Haydn Society, and more. “Most recently, the students did an interesting project on programming for the BSO,” Rohit declares. “What's the best programming? Who should be the featured artist? And what should be the program? These students, you give them data, and they just love doing the analytics.”
As fun as it is for the students, being a professor is also fun for Rohit. “This is my next project… There's a parallel between arts and culture and luxury. And we need a course on luxury. So, I'm going to be developing a course on the business of luxury. I'm just finishing a case on Hermès,” he notes. “I got to go into a couple of the stores in Paris and just kind of observe how people were buying and what they were asking for. I'm having a ball, I have to admit.” Although he was hesitant at first, Rohit says, “It's the same thing with the arts course. I've told Yo-Yo that I'm very grateful to him for forcing me into this, because I didn't want to do it. And now I get to spend time with all of these artists.”
Although many of the students in Rohit’s course on Business of the Arts don’t pursue careers in the arts, there are still a good number of HBS alumni representatives in the art world. “The current CEO of The Shed is a Harvard MBA [Max Hodges, AB ’03 and MBA ’10], and the current CEO of the Boston Ballet is a Harvard MBA [Ming Min Hui MBA ’15].” And even for students who don’t go on to become the CEO of Lincoln Center, Rohit hopes they’re still in a position to do some good in the world. “I'd say 90% of the students who graduate go on to join nonprofit boards,” Rohit states. And then those students are prepared and understand potential governance issues or other problems they might encounter, from their experience in BOTA. The students are better equipped to make a positive influence and be able to give back. “The short-term contribution from the students is helping these arts organizations right away,” Rohit smiles. “We have 100% of our partners wanting to come back next year with new projects, because they're very happy. And the long-term impact is the students going on to join non-profit boards and help.”
As for how Rohit stays involved with the arts, he himself is on a few boards. “I'm on the board of the A.R.T. and on Silkroad (the organization founded by Yo-Yo 25 years ago at Tanglewood)… and I'm also on HUCA, the Harvard University Committee on the Arts,” Rohit says. He also engages with Harvard undergrads. “This January, I was asked if I would do one session for a few undergraduate students who are interested in entrepreneurial activities around the arts,” he explains. “So I taught this session, a case study on the marketing of jazz in America. And the case study is on Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was through the OFA [Harvard Office for the Arts].” Rohit says he tremendously enjoyed that experience of working with younger students—and, FYI, if there are any OFA staff members reading this, he says he’d love to do it again next J-Term!
Industry News
Luvh Rakhe AB ’01 is the executive producer of CHAD POWERS, a sports comedy series that follows Russ Holliday and his double life as college quarterback Chad Powers. The second season is set to premiere on September 3rd, and will be available for streaming on Hulu. (Blex Media)
Sammi Cannold EDM ’16 will direct THE PRINCE OF EGYPT in February 2027 at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, as part of Manhattan Concert Productions’ Broadway Mainstage series. (Broadway World)
Tina Landau ART ’89 is the writer and director of MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT, which follows Joan Jett Black, the first and only Black drag queen candidate for the president of the United States. Previews will begin on October 15th, with an opening on November 1st at Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre. (Playbill)
Diane Paulus AB ’88 is the director of the American Repertory Theater revival of RHINOCEROS, a landmark play by Eugène Ionesco that explores what follows the invasion of rhinoceroses in a small town. The revival premiered on August 21st, with accessible shows taking place through September. (NPR)
Ashley LaLonde AB ’20 is Elizabeth in the North American tour of DIRTY DANCING: THE MUSICAL, the stage adaptation of the iconic film. The tour began at The Ordway Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota on August 12th. (Cherry and Spoon)
Annabel O’Hagan AB ’19’s role as Stephanie “Steph” Harper in FALLOUT, an Amazon Prime Video post-apocalyptic drama television series, has been promoted to series regular as part of a major casting update and a growing storyline. The third season is set to premiere in mid-2027. (The Direct)
Tatyana Ali AB ’02 has been cast for DANCING WITH THE STARS season thirty-five. The ABBOTT ELEMENTARY and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR star joins Julia Stiles, Guillermo Rodriguez, Maura Higgins, and Ciara Miller. (TMZ)
Kim Onah AB ’15 is one of many Broadway stars that came together for ALONE: THE CONCEPT ALBUM, which follows Mia, a young woman who wants control over her own life. The album was released on August 7th, and is available for streaming on all major platforms. (Playbill)
Bill Oakley AB ’88 is bringing a live event based on the “Steamed Hams” scene from THE SIMPSONS in honor of its thirtieth anniversary since it first aired. The event will take place on September 11th in Carolina Beach. (WWAY News)
Steven Schneider AM ’06 is an executive producer of INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER, which follows Gemma, a young mother who discovers she can bring beings from the spirit world into the mortal world. The film was theatrically released on August 21st. (SCREAM)
Rashida Jones AB ’97 is part of the cast of HEXED, which follows Billie Doe, a teenage girl who discovers powers that can take her into the world of witches. The upcoming Disney animated film is set to be released on November 25th. (The Wrap)
Justin Hurwitz AB ’08 composed a new version of Mia & Sebastian’s Theme from LA LA LAND in honor of the film’s tenth anniversary, its return to theatres, and the ongoing LA LA LAND IN CONCERT series. The updated arrangement is much softer, geared towards everyday listening. (Broadway World)
Gerry Bryant AB ’76 performed at the Birds of a Feather Jazz Lounge in Los Angeles, with a unique repertoire that spotlighted historically underrecognized Black classical music composers, as well as arrangements of popular songs and his own rhapsodic compositions.
HBO lands hot drama spec IMPOSTER by Kalos Chu AB ’23 with Lauren LeFranc producing. (Deadline)
Sarah Elizabeth Lewis AB ’01 is guest curator of IF EMMETT TILL LIVED: FREEDOM ON AMERICAN GROUND, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography imagining the life Emmett Till might have lived had he safely returned home to Chicago. The exhibition runs from September 10 through December 19, 2026. (MoCP)
THE MAN WILL BURN, directed by Jehane Noujaim AB ’96 and executive produced by Geralyn Dreyfous AB ’84, review: HBO’s Burning Man docuseries boasts impressive access, but sticks too close to the photogenic surface. (Hollywood Reporter)
Exclusive Q&A with Claudia Hinz AB '90 (author)
Claudia Hinz lives in Bend, Oregon. She was a proud Kirkland House resident and graduate of the class of 1990. She received her MA in Literature from Southern Methodist University. She worked as a television reporter for network affiliates in Northern California, Seattle, and Dallas. Her work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, Women Writers, Women’s Books, Story Magazine, The Wrath Bearing Tree, and The Manifest-Station. Her debut novel SAFEKEEPING will be released September 30.
Q: As a reporter and published writer in outlets like Women’s Books, Story Magazine, and The Boston Globe, what inspired you to take on long-form fiction for this project?
This story has been with me for a long time. Maybe as long as fifty years since I was a child eavesdropping on conversations in my family’s living room when my parents hosted gatherings for veterans and the families of POW-MIA (Prisoners of War and Missing in Action). I was fascinated by the strangers in our home, and, also, uncomfortable with the fact that some men went off to fight while others stayed home, safe. Years later, as a reporter covering stories on military bases in California, Washington, and Texas, I continued to be struck by questions about what it means to live in a country dependent on an all-volunteer army. Writing news stories that only ran one or two minutes didn’t allow me the space to explore these questions. I started to imagine a novel. In the course of researching SAFEKEEPING, I came across a photo of graffiti on a base in Ramadi, Iraq. The graffiti read: “America isn’t at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall.” These words felt like a personal indictment, because I was, quite literally, at the mall, going about my business while other Americans my age were on the front lines of war. If America was at the mall, while the Marines were at war, how could I get my character, Tenley, a former television personality, wealthy socialite, and mother of four, to care about a war being fought far away? When I started writing SAFEKEEPING and was exploring the relationship between my two characters, Tenley and Privately, a handsome, young Marine, I realized that the only way Tenley would pay attention to war was to introduce a draft. If there was a draft, she might also begin to care about the experiences of a veteran, a man young enough to be her own son.
Q: What was the most challenging part of writing this story? Were there any scenes or characters that were particularly difficult to get right, especially considering the sensitive nature of the topics you were dealing with (grief, war, motherhood, and resistance)?
I have not served in the military, so imagining the experiences of a young Marine was daunting. I spent a year reading books about Iran and Afghanistan, and interviewing veterans of these wars. I watched a lot of movies and documentaries and listened to podcasts and conducted more interviews. I endeavored to create a fully realized, compelling, complicated character. I spent a lot of time with Privately and it was only when I felt that I had approached his character development compassionately and with my best intentions, that I felt ready to introduce Tenley and begin imagining how these two people from different walks of life might come together in exciting ways. Tenley was an easier character for me to imagine. Like her, I am a mother, and I worked as a television journalist for many years. Tenley seems to have it all—a beautiful family, wealth, privilege—and yet, she has regrets about giving up her career to stay home, and as an aging woman, she is struggling with everything from her identity to her changing body. It was really challenging to imagine the steps that would lead her to jeopardize her marriage, but as her story progressed, and I had greater insight into her frustrations about her own personal sacrifices, it made sense that she would enter into a relationship with Privately, as inappropriate as that affair seemed.
Q: SAFEKEEPING also deals with themes of patriotism and protest as its own form of patriotism. This is a complex line to walk in our current sociopolitical climate. How did you try to balance the tensions of each competing interest as you were writing?
I was really interested in exploring Privately’s ideas about service. As a combat veteran, did he believe there were other ways of serving beyond the military? What did he think about protesting against the very government which sent him to fight? He becomes involved in MOMS, Mothers Opposing More Senselessness, an anti-draft organization, as a way to bring attention to the war’s death toll. On some level, this protest is very personal; it is about honoring his comrades who were killed. On the other hand, Tenley forms MOMS with the explicit goal of keeping her son safe and out of war, but as she works to bring a national spotlight to this anti-draft movement, her own understanding of the end goals of protest changes, and her perception of the romanticized war hero is challenged.
Q: Veterans are often ostracized or blamed for wars after they return home. How do you think we, as a community, can better support our veterans when coming back from combat while also holding our government accountable?
This is an important and multi-faceted question, and I wish I had actionable answers. I feel passionately about bringing veterans and civilians together in meaningful conversations. Too often, civilians’ interactions with veterans are limited to a brief exchange in a grocery store or a Veterans Day parade when we might say, “thank you for your service,” before walking away. As civilians, we have little insight into the experiences of military personnel and their families on bases here in the U.S. and across the world. If we knew more about their lives and the daily risks they face, we might be better positioned and motivated to provide adequate support for them and advocate for services they are entitled to receive. I hear plenty of jingoistic slogans from our government, but our servicemen and women are not a priority in this administration. Our society continues to fail our military and their families.
Q: What’s your process like for starting, writing, and finishing a story? What are the challenges, and what comes easiest to you? Have you ever gotten writer’s block?
My process is messy and painfully inefficient, but I have come to accept this is my process. I write longhand and try to maintain momentum. I don’t go back and reread or attempt to revise. I look at my first draft as a discovery draft, a “zero draft,” with draft #1 being the one I enter into the computer. It is only after I have this first (still rough) draft in a document, that I begin to think about creating an outline and shaping what I have into a story. Writer’s block is very real and can be crushing. I try to remember the words of the great poet William Stafford who when asked what he does to avoid writer’s block, responded that he simply lowered his standards. This helps a lot: I don’t have to write “well.” I don’t need to complete a daily or weekly word count. I just need to keep showing up and engaging with whatever is before me on the page. As writers, sometimes we need little tricks to keep us coming back to the work with curiosity.
Q: Who are some writers or storytellers who have influenced you? What is one book you think everyone should read?
At the end of SAFEKEEPING, I include a list of books that were helpful to me as I drafted my novel. Many of these titles, particularly BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ben Fountain and WAITING FOR EDEN by Elliot Ackerman, beautifully, and compassionately imagine the inner worlds of combat veterans and inspired me in my own writing. As for one book everyone should read… ooh, that’s tricky. Reading is vital to my existence. I am guessing Harvardwood readers feel the same. I am a fan of reading whatever feels compelling, any genre, any title, any subject. For me, all reading is worthwhile.
Q: What's next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or themes you’re excited to explore in your future work?
I am currently working on a novel set in nineteenth-century Morocco about a young Sephardic Jewish woman. It is my first foray into writing historical fiction, a genre I love. In preparation to write this book, I spent a lot of time tracking down obscure sources and accounts from the early nineteenth-century. I’ve been fortunate to visit Morocco on two occasions. On my more recent trip to the country, I tried to imagine my character’s path through the Tangier marketplace, to the hammam (the public baths), and to synagogue where she prayed with her family. I’ve tried to picture her daily routine and explore her thoughts and dreams. In many ways, writing historical fiction does not feel so different from writing contemporary fiction. As novelists of every genre, we are seeking to inhabit a character and bring her to life on the page. I won’t get every detail from the nineteenth century right, but I am continuing to research as thoroughly as possible in order to create a compelling world in which the reader feels fully immersed.
Q: What’s your biggest tip for aspiring authors looking to get published?
Writing doesn’t get easier, and the journey to publication can be long and bruising, which is why we all need to be cheerleaders for one another throughout this long process. I hope I can be supportive of fellow writers, especially those who are struggling with rejections, finding an agent, or checking email every hour, hoping that someone will want to publish their work. Keep going! Your story matters.
Q: And finally, what do you like to do in your free time?
I am an avid (obsessive!) reader. After my family, and dogs, of course, reading is my greatest joy. I am fortunate to live in Bend, Oregon, an outdoor wonderland of activities, and I love running and hiking along the Deschutes River and up in the mountains. If you’re passing through Central Oregon, please reach out and I’ll take you to my favorite spots along the beautiful Deschutes!
Weekly Freewriting Sessions
Thursday 09/10
Join our weekly online sessions to make real progress on your writing. Whether you’re starting a new project or advancing ongoing work, this is your dedicated space to write consistently and build momentum.
The Business of Entertainment with VERSANT CFO & COO Anand Kini and Harvardwood Treasurer Gene Pao
Tuesday 09/15
Anand Kini MBA '97 serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of VERSANT. In this role, Kini oversees the finance, strategy and operational functions of the company. Previously, Kini served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy at Comcast Corporation and Chief Financial Officer of NBCUniversal where he worked across the corporation to help drive the company’s global growth strategy and oversaw the Finance and Strategy functions across the company, including the Media, Studio and Theme Park divisions.
Stop Writing! Build the Right Story Before You Draft
Monday 09/28
Most writers rush to the page and spend months, sometimes years, rewriting the wrong story. Writer-producer-composer David Cornue (TRIAGE, COACH) teaches the opposite discipline: develop the story fully before you write a word. Drawing on his training as a classical composer (who sketches a symphony’s structure before a single note), David gives writers a practical, repeatable system for envisioning, engineering, and executing a story first, so it works before drafting begins. It applies equally to screenplays, novels, plays, and musicals. Audiences leave with tools they can use the next morning, not just motivation.
Harvardwood Lowdown
Wednesday 10/07
Join Harvardwood for an informal event with our leadership team, including Mia Alpert, Adam Fratto, Diane Nabatoff, and introducing Harvardwood's new Vice President: Adam Wolman AB '88!
Mia Riverton Alpert grew up in Indianapolis. An avid actress, singer, pianist and dancer since age four, Mia juggled artistic and academic pursuits throughout her school years.
Adam Fratto is a seasoned creative executive and executive producer with proven track records in development & programming, production, and strategy.
Diane Nabatoff has worked as a studio executive, production company executive and producer of film and television over her 30-year career. Nabatoff loves discovering new voices and is known for launching multiple first-time directors including Pete Berg, Joe Carnahan, Kathryn Bigelow and Liz Friedlander.
Adam Wolman consults for companies and individuals creating content for all media. Comedy, drama, reality, documentary—name the format and Adam's tried to be of service in helping tell a compelling story. Sometimes this turns out great and other times meh, but so far, happily, nothing he's worked on has been a total disaster.
Last Month at Harvardwood
Last Month at Harvardwood, we held a board meeting, went to the beach, talked with some reps, and more!
Clockwise from top left: Photos courtesy of David Alpert, Sarah Brockmann, Harvardwood, Joe Espo
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