Helen Gaughran grew up in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Ireland–the tiny hometown of James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw (who have also enjoyed modest writing success).
There, she attended a castle-convent where she was taught Latin, discipline and a love of literature by nuns who could easily have played Bridge professionally.
She graduated from an Irish university you’ve never heard of and moved to San Francisco, where she worked as a waitress until she won a green card in the lottery. (God bless America!) She proceeded to squander her good fortune by working in a raft of ad agencies, where she picked up a One Show pencil and a Clio (along with the urge to write something more personal and meaningful).
Helen has written three other feature screenplays: Pop Psychology, The Patriot Test and The Domina Effect. She also won an all-Ireland medal for math at age 11 and, to this day, has no idea how that happened.
In the alter ego category, she is a former California State pool champion and played pool professionally on the WPBA Tour (and yes, she lost to the Black Widow).
The 23rd Annual Screenwriting Contest develops talented writers and connects them with producers, agencies, and managers who can help launch their career.
The 18th Annual TV Writing Contest searches for extraordinary writers and pilots, connecting them with production companies, agencies, and managers.
The Pitch Contest reviews original film and TV series ideas for development with Script Pipeline’s executive team, prior to consideration for managers and production companies.
The 14th Annual First Look Project searches for higher-concept material across MULTIPLE categories for film and TV, introducing select writers to reps and producers.
This one is best-expressed through a timeline ... A totally easy process spanning a breezy … nine years. From Laura: "The Pipeline team has been amazingly helpful since The Mother was a finalist in the Script Pipeline TV competition years ago. It's a story that has stayed close to my heart so I ended up adapting it […]
First Look Project winner (Horror & Thriller) Kelly Walker signed with reps at Kaplan/Perrone in April 2025. The Script Pipeline team helped develop The Stag & the Bull after her FLP win and said of the screenplay "probably the best erotic thriller script we've read ..." Kelly's debut feature was My Fiona, which she wrote […]
Winner of the 2024 First Look Project (Sci-fi) with his script Purebred, Sam Robotham signed with manager Maddy Weese at Bellevue. Pipeline execs called the script "a quietly disturbing story written with a marvelous sense of perverse mystery and true emotional depth ... definitely a writer to watch for in the years to come." Sam […]
