Darnell Lamont Walker 

April 1, 2026, 5:30 - 7:00 PM PST

Session Description

Darnell Lamont Walker is a director, producer, death doula, and author of the recently published nonfiction,  Never Can Say Goodbye. He will offer practical tips and share his experiences from his life as both an Emmy-nominated children’s TV writer, a new book author, and a practicing death doula. Darnell’s work and insights will provide a window into how a working artist builds a practice rooted in joy, courage, and care with specific tips on how you can do it yourself–by writing effective narratives for TV and books. 

This session covers:

• How end of life work can shape storytelling, and what we can learn from it about presence, attention, and emotional honesty.

• Best practices for writing about difficult material, finding language for loss, and using narrative to lead people back toward joy without bypassing pain.

• Practical insights into sustaining a creative life across genres—books, TV writing rooms, essays, and doula work—including protecting one’s own spirit, finding the right collaborators, and building stories that help readers and viewers feel less alone

• Concrete habits for drafting and revising TV scripts and book chapters on a regular schedule, including how to break large projects into manageable beats, pages, and scenes.

• How to think like a TV writer: understanding rooms, notes, and collaboration; shaping a story engine that can sustain episodes; and using those same tools to build structure and momentum in a book.

• Straightforward guidance on getting your work read: choosing which pages to share, approaching reps and editors, and writing short, specific, impactful pitch messages that actually sound like you.

More about Darnell: 

Darnell Lamont Walker is a death doula, Emmy-nominated children’s television writer, producer, and explorer. Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, he creates spaces worldwide for healing through storytelling, end-of-life care, and workshops on grief, resilience, unlocking the writer within, and radical empathy. He joyfully lives in the Chattahoochee National Forest of North Georgia.

HRISHIKESH HIRWAY

TBD 2026, 5:30 - 7:00 PM PST

Session Description

Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician, composer, and podcast creator. He is the host and creator of Song Exploder, an award-winning podcast and Netflix original series in which musicians break down the creative process behind their songs—Vulture called it “probably the best use of the podcast format ever.” He also co-created and co-hosted the award-winning podcasts Home Cooking, with chef Samin Nosrat, and The West Wing Weekly, with actor Joshua Malina, and has served as executive producer on other original audio projects, including Google’s first podcast and Shirley Manson’s The Jump for Mailchimp. As a recording artist, Hrishikesh will release the album In the Last Hour of Light in 2026, featuring collaborations with Iron & Wine, Kevin Morby, and others, produced by Grammy-nominated Philip Weinrobe. His 2022 EP, Rooms I Used to Call My Own, includes collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Jay Som, Kimbra, and Grammy-winning producer John Congleton. He previously released four albums as The One AM Radio and an EP with Moors, his collaboration with Lakeith Stanfield, and has composed original scores for film, television, and video games, including Companion, Save the Date, Our Nixon, the Netflix series Everything Sucks!, and The Red Lantern. Hrishikesh has given a TED Talk on listening closely, contributed to CBS Sunday Morning and Pop-Up Magazine, and has been recognized by Fast Company and AdWeek as one of the most creative and innovative voices in media. He is originally from Peabody, Massachusetts, and lives in Los Angeles.