Story to Screen: A Conversation with Showrunner Susin Nielsen

Drawing on decades of experience in television storytelling, Susin will explore how scripts move from page to screen—addressing the collaborative relationships between writers, directors, and actors that shape a successful series. The discussion will touch on character development, working in the writers’ room, directing and producing dynamics, and how performers can best engage with creative teams. The session will conclude with an interactive Q&A, offering practical insight and career guidance for actors, writers, and directors working in television.
SUSIN NIELSEN is a multiple award-winning screenwriter and novelist who recently wrapped show-running the fourth season of her original hour-long comedy-drama series, Family Law. The show airs on Global in Canada, the CW in the US, and in markets around the world.

Susin got her start at a young age, penning 16 episodes of the worldwide hit Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. She’s written over a hundred hours of TV on shows such as Cedar Cove, Heartland, Ready or Not and Braceface. She also co-created and was showrunner on the critically acclaimed comedy-drama, Robson Arms and the YA comedy, Alice, I Think. In 2023 she received the Writers Guild of Canada Showrunner Award in recognition of her unique vision, writing excellence, collaborative nature and outstanding leadership.

Nielsen is also the author of seven young adult novels. Her books have won the Governor General’s Literary Award, the UKLA award and over a dozen young readers’ choice awards. A number of her titles have been nominated for the prestigious Carnegie Medal. In 2019, she was awarded the Writers’ Trust Vicki Metcalf Award for a body of work. Her books have been translated around the world. She recently published her first adult novel, SNAP, in a two-book deal to Harper Collins Canada. It came out in April 2025 and sat for 16 weeks on the Canadian Independent Booksellers Best Seller list.

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Host or Publisher Mitch and Murray Productions