About

Before there is a great movie or TV series, there has to be a great screenwriter. If you’ve thought about writing or have already written a script, you’ll enjoy hearing what our screenwriters have to say about their experiences. 

Because of unforeseen changes to their schedules, Bridget Foley and Stephen Susco will be unable to participate in this Roundtable. 

Mark Allen is a screenwriter, producer, director, and editor who has worked in film and television. 

Hope McPherson is an award-winning and optioned screenwriter, but, in the scheme of things, a rank beginner when it comes to scriptwriting. She has also been an editor and a feature writer for more than 20 years and has interviewed a variety of people, including physicians, theologians, cartoonists, academics, and a Hollywood wrangler. She lives in Port Orchard on a small farm with a contemplative llama, three partying goats, and two softhearted mini donkeys.

Julie Bliss Umbreit is a screenwriter, but her career has been fueled by a wide variety of related jobs:  journalist, photo-journalist, editor, magazine writer, public relations, corporate trainer, producer and multi-media business owner. 

She has written ten screenplays.  Three of them – a comedy, family film and true story -- have won first-place awards from film festivals, such as Sundance, Austin, San Diego, Nashville, Moondance, Kids First!, Washington State, and Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. Two scripts have been optioned by L.A. producers.

A believer in keeping skills up-to-date, she currently is enrolled in an online ScreenwritingU Master Screenwriting Course. She also has taken classes in comedy, dialogue, Mini-Movie Method, creating characters for movie stars, the Chinese film market and more. She has a Screenwriting Certificate from the University of Washington. Professional organizations she belongs to are Northwest Screenwriters Guild and Women in Film/Seattle.