EXCLUSIVE: National Hispanic Media Coalition welcomes 10 new Latinx writers to its 2021 Series Scriptwriters Program: Linzy Beltran, April M. Sanchez, Diego Moreno, Michel Lichand, Eli Vazquez, Ana Defillo, Rolando Gomez, Desiree Carcamo, Samantha Renee Cordero, and Linda Dillon Moya.

The civil rights non-profit organization provides writers at various stages of their careers with networking opportunities with industry pros with the goal of finding staffing opportunities and learning how to sell their scripts to top studios and networks. The program is part of NHMC’s commitment to making Hollywood a more inclusive industry by supporting Latinx creatives to navigate in a competitive market.

“NHMC is proud to cultivate the next generation of storytellers. We are always elated to see a new group of writers start this program. They are the future of the industry. From the next staff writers to your favorite show’s showrunners,” said Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. “As we have done so for nearly twenty years, we continue to advance Latinx writers in an industry that has yet to fully utilize our community’s rich and diverse talent. NHMC is here to bridge the gap and connect the entertainment industry with well-equipped writers who are ready to tell authentic stories.”

Program alumni include writers that have gone on to write for series like The Umbrella Academy, Resident Alien, The Flash, Cruel Summer, Indebted, Generation, and Selena: The Series. Emilia Serrano (Mixed-ish), Sierra Teller Ornelas (Rutherford Falls), and Rob Sudduth (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) are part of the nearly 200 former cohorts who have gone on to have successful careers in Hollywood.

Learn more about the class of 2021 below.

Linzy Beltran is a Salvadorian-American writer and performer based in Austin, Texas. Her pilot is titled Boo Shots, a single-camera comedy about a Texas mall stuck in the 1990s and its shopkeepers who are trying to stay afloat as a for-profit community college threatens their livelihoods.

April M. Sanchez was born and raised in El Paso, TX, on the US/Mexico border whose stories often reflect the beauty, wonder, and traditional elements of border town Latinx culture. Her pilot is called Break A Leg!, a single-camera comedy about a type-A general manager of a live theater that struggles with the eccentric personalities of his employees who all clash with her obsessive need for organization.

Diego Moreno is a Pascua Yaqui and Mexican American screenwriter from Tucson, Arizona. He wrote a drama pilot titled Sins of the Father, about a former true crime author that returns to his Indian Reservation in search of his missing sister.

Michel Lichand was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a Jewish family who moved to L.A. and became a comedian thanks to his family who always told him he was funny. He wrote the single-cam comedy Loose Ends, about a grieving widower who finds unexpected solace in a small group of eccentric people who make dead people’s last wishes come true posthumously.

Eli Vazquez is a proud afro-Mexi-Rican, hailing from Chicago, IL, who almost became a priest. That One Girl is a single-camera comedy about a nonconformist teen who wants to return to her angsty life after beating cancer— but everyone is treating her like a hero and won’t let her be herself.

Ana Defillo is a Venezuelan immigrant raised in Miami, FL by her working-class Dominican family. She wrote Good Intentions, a single-camera comedy pilot based on true events about a well-meaning volunteer who unwittingly uncovers widespread corruption at a busy nonprofit in Washington Heights who gets recruited by the FBI.

Rolando Gomez is known to drink deadlines for breakfast with his military “can do” attitude. He wrote the drama pilot Lens Diaries, based on true events, which tells the story of a former combat photographer who trades the battlefield for the stage of glamour photography.

Desiree Carcamo is a queer first-gen Mexican-Salvadoran-American writer-actor-filmmaker raised by strong, independent women in vibrant BIPOC communities on occupied and unceded Tongva and Cahuilla land (South Central LA and the Inland Empire). They wrote the comedy-mockumentary The Blue House about a South-Central L.A.-based medium who side-hustles as a ghost counselor.

Samantha Renee Cordero is a proud Nuyorican writer born and raised in Manhattan. Her single-camera comedy pilot is titled The Flip, which follows a group of ragtag friends from the inner city who upend their lives to invest in a suspiciously affordable foreclosed building that turns out to be a money pit.

Linda Dillon Moya is a writer, producer, and development executive, with more than 10 years of experience in the entertainment industry. She wrote The Good Latina, a single-cam comedy about an ethnically ambiguous Latinx woman who juggles with her Hollywood career and her traditional elitist Mexican family when they move into her small home.