EXCLUSIVE: Writer Mike Gauyo (Insecure, Ginny & Georgia) and Coverfly have announced the 2025 class of the Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative, a talent incubator for up-and-coming Black writers.
The new cohort of 10 mentees came together following a global search for emerging storytellers across the Black diaspora. Each writer will have access to monthly roundtables with established writers/industry leaders; writing workshops to fine-tune their scripts and prepare them for fellowships, generals, and staffing opportunities; and general meetings with networks and production companies. Participants will also each receive the latest edition of Final Draft’s screenwriting software, at the end of the year having the opportunity to be read by Gauyo’s agents at Culture Creative and managers at M88 for representation consideration.
The yearlong initiative is co-run by Chief of Programming, Heather Daughtry. Among those set to serve as mentors are Jackie Penn (4400, The Catch), Andre Ferguson (Power Book II: Ghost), and Cynthia Adarkwa (The Pitt, Legacies).
Of this year’s cohort, Gauyo said, “We’re thrilled to welcome the latest group of mentees, who we’ve aptly named our talented ten. Their varied perspectives and diverse backgrounds are just what this industry needs. I’m confident that they’ll accomplish many things both in and out of the program.”
Read on to learn about the 2025 fellows.
Abraham Adeyemi is a multi-award-winning writer-director from South London. His directorial debut ‘No More Wings’ world premiered and won best narrative short at Tribeca Film Festival. His writing is genre-agnostic, with a focus on complex, nuanced characters seen through a lens of empathy and grace.
David Anthony Barbier Jr. is a writer-actor of Cuban/ Haitian descent. His upbringing and experiences living abroad has encouraged a curiosity to engage in the world around him and apply it to his writing. A graduate of Syracuse University and an NBCUniversal Page, he seeks to uncover, understand and reflect on the complexities of what it means to be human.
Deion Higginbotham is an Oakland-born self-taught screenwriter who amplifies the Black experience through his unique blend of genres. With a creative journey spanning over a decade, Deion’s achievements include being a Semi-finalist in the Screencraft Drama competition and winning The Warner Brothers x ABFF Screenwriting competition.
Devin Githara-Pipkin is a first-generation Kenyan-American screenwriter whose passion for storytelling has paved the way for his journey from Baltimore, Maryland to Los Angeles, California. His writing challenges and subverts the negative stereotypes of African American males often portrayed in contemporary media, diving into their complexities through a blend of humor and poignant coming-of-age narratives.
Ivan Rome is a Southern filmmaker, born and raised in Columbus, GA, with a passion for writing narratives that explore our culture through humor and heart. His work has screened at several Academy Award-qualifying film festivals across the United States.
Paige Elson is a writer-actor-comedian from Stockton, California. She studied theater at Pepperdine University and went on to learn comedy at UCB, where she is currently a part of UCB’s MainStage Improv show, Harold Night. Paige often explores themes of unconventional families, female friendships, and intersectional identities in her work.
Randi Tyre McCray is a screenwriter and 10th-grade English teacher. Her passion for screenwriting started with a spec script in the 4th grade. A Hofstra University graduate, Randi’s work includes the darkly comedic short film The New Family On Normal Street and her most recent feature script Trailer Trash, a coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of grief.
Semi Oloko is a first-generation Nigerian-American writer from Boston, MA. She worked in literary management prior to becoming a showrunner’s assistant at End of Episode. Her writing embraces the absurd, tackling race and identity through a comedic lens.
Talia Caldwell is a former pro basketball player turned comedy writer from Los Angeles. Earning her MFA from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program, Talia has written and produced for Pampers, US Bank, The New York Times, consulted/appeared as herself on Apple TV’s Swagger, and was the showrunner’s assistant on season two of Amazon’s Jury Duty.
Tito Kolawole left corporate legal practice and moved back home to Lagos, Nigeria during the pandemic to pursue her love of storytelling. As a multi-medium writer and scholar, she is currently completing her PhD in African & Diaspora Studies and tends to focus on stories that explore Global Blackness and belonging.
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