On Friday, September 1, 2017, Final Draft is co-sponsoring a special Friday Night Social event with the Scriptwriters Network Foundation Inc. and Jen Grisanti Consultancy. The Palomar Hotel’s Double Take Restaurant and Lounge will be the gracious host for the evening.

The Scriptwriters Network Foundation (a.k.a. Scriptwriters Network or SWN, for short) began in 1986 when a group of writers began meeting regularly to discuss scripts and their writing careers. In 2001, SWN received their 501-c3 non-profit status. Ms. Melessa Y. Sargent, current president of SWN, is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her background includes everything from acting, singing, modeling and dancing. Sargent started in SWN as a volunteer working the door for various events and worked her way up to becoming the organization’s president in 2012. At the beginning of her tenure, Ms. Sargent and her team changed the Network’s focus to education, continuing to provide members the opportunities to attend speaker and seminar series and to participate in programs like the Hollywood Outreach Program, Television Outreach Program, and High Concept Screenplay Program.

The Friday Night Socials are open to everyone and free to attend. Food, drinks, and parking are the attendee’s responsibility. These nights are strictly focused on the art of networking. What makes these events unique is everyone is on a first-name-only basis on their nametag; therefore, many industry professionals feel comfortable attending and networking because of the anonymity.

If you’re new to networking, have no fear! SWN is well known for helping first-timers feel comfortable and find ways to become a strong networker. “We have all levels of writers and other industry professionals who come in for networking,” Sargent mentions. “For the newcomers, we introduce them to a group of people that are already great at networking and smoothly transition them into that group. We tell them at the beginning what they need to do, what they need to listen for, and that’s the extra step we take for them.”

It’s important that when script writers get in the room with producers or others who can really help their career, they need to know how to talk to the producers and others as well as how to talk about themselves. Sargent explains, “A lot of people want to meet new writers or people in the industry but not necessarily in their field. This is crucial to know if they can work with a person, what their attitude is when they meet people and how they get along with other people.” And as they say, it’s who you know in Hollywood. It’s good to make friends and make contacts with people because you never know where that person is going to go and they can bring you with them; especially if you make friends or know how to network.

This is just the first of many events Final Draft will be partnering with Scriptwriters Network. Upcoming events include a Virtual Reality Panel and a Charity Poker Night. “We look forward to a long partnership with Final Draft and we are grateful and appreciative of their involvement with our organization,” notes Sargent.

In addition to these Friday Night Socials, Scriptwriters Network hosts many events throughout the year for their members. Membership dues are currently $120.00 per year with discounts offered to members of the military, students, or seniors. The dues include entry to incredible guest speaker events, seminars with leading industry personnel, discounted entry for their Outreach Programs as well as special Members Only meetings. Not sure about joining just yet? Sargent shared those who aren’t sure about joining yet can pay an entry fee for each individual event they would like to attend, but the best deal is to join as a full-fledged member.

Find more information regarding the Friday Night Social on Scriptwriter Network RSVP page. For September 1^st Friday Night Social, be sure to register before Thursday, August 31^st. To find out how to join SWN and for future events, check out ScriptwritersNetwork.org.