online event; open to the public and all mentees & mentors
At Friday Night Salons, a special guest artist shares their personal and professional journey and guides us through a series of inspirational writing prompts. Join us for this Friday Night Salon with Elle Johnson, TV writer and author of the memoir The Officer’s Daughter.
Elle will share her reflection on the process of turning a terrible tragedy that forever altered the fabric of her family into a remarkable memoir, a heart-wrenching story of love, violence, coming of age, secrets, justice and forgiveness.
Originally from Hollis in Queens, NY Elle’s writing is heavily influenced by growing up in a law enforcement family. Her debut memoir, THE OFFICER’S DAUGHTER, tells the story of her 16-year-old cousin’s murder and is about a terrible tragedy, the toll this trauma event takes on her family, and the power—and ultimately the freedom—of forgiveness. Drawing on her true crime experience, Elle has worked for more than 20 years as a TV writer, Executive Producer and Showrunner in Los Angeles. Her credits include police procedurals LAW & ORDER, CSI: MIAMI, and THE GLADES. She has also written for a number of character-driven series, such as Lifetime’s critically acclaimed civil rights drama ANY DAY NOW, CBS’s GHOST WHISPERER, TNT’s SAVING GRACE, MTV’s FINDING CARTER, and Freeform’s groundbreaking series THE FOSTERS. In 2021 Elle won an NAACP Image award as co-showrunner and executive producer on Netflix’s limited series SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM CJ WALKER starring Octavia Spencer, who was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the lead role. Elle is also a writer and Executive Producer on the Amazon original series BOSCH, based on the Michael Connelly detective novels. Photo Credit: Amina Touray