Akosua-Asamoabea Ampofo is a writer whose journey spans from her birthplace in Nashville, US, to her formative years in Accra, Ghana. After earning her BA in Film from Bryn Mawr College, Akosua’s passion for narrative depth and character-driven stories propelled her to pursue an MFA at Northwestern University in Writing for the Screen & Stage.
Akosua crafts stories about defiant and driven African women who challenge various systems—be it familial, societal, or political. Oh, and there’s always a sprinkle of death!
Makeda Declet is a Guyanese-American writer, actor, and novice puppeteer originally from Brooklyn, NY. She holds a BFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. Makeda loves telling dark-comedic stories about Black family dynamics, self-discovery, and addiction through the lens of Black, Queer protagonists. She has developed work at EST/LA, MeetCute LA, Echo Theater Company, Moving Arts, and Mara Brock Akil’s Story 27 Writer’s Colony. Makeda currently serves on the members council of EST/LA where she co-created the Ignite Project, a play development space for emerging playwrights.
Joslyn Housley is an American playwright, librettist, editor, and mom who has called Chicago, London, New York, and northern France her home. Joslyn writes about journeys—physical, spiritual, emotional—and the people who take them. She is the author of the award-winning historical drama, The Silver Thread and the story writer for the 2021 film Hal King, an r&b opera based on Shakespeare’s Henry 4 parts 1 & 2. She also teaches historical fiction writing for the publishing house, midnight & indigo. She is currently working on a musical. Joslyn’s work has been recognized by: the Women Playwrights International Conference/Montreal; Landing Theatre’s New American Voices; the Bay Area Playwrights Festival; the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference; the Great Plains Theatre Conference; and the Hudson Valley Writer’s Center.
Kate McMorran is a playwright-turned-screenwriter currently pursuing her MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage at Northwestern University. Her play CHOPSTICK won the judges choice award at the Playbill Virtual Theatre Festival, and several of her short plays have been produced in NYC. Her work has been published by Smith & Kraus and various lit mags, and she is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Kate writes toxic rom-coms about women searching for pleasure. She also loves to obsessively stare at her houseplants and can usually be found reading at least three books at once.
