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Priscilla Kay Alden (born October 24, 1946) is an American television writer and the former
head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
for the soap opera, ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
''.


Career

Alden began writing for ''The Young and the Restless'' as a script writer in 1974 while researching her dissertation at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
br>
She was promoted to associate head writer in 1987, then to co-
head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
in 1997

She took over as
head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
the following year when series co-creator
William J. Bell William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas '' Another World'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Ea ...
stepped down from the position. With Alden as head writer, the show lost about two million viewers (most of the loss occurred in 2004 when Alden co-wrote the show with longtime ''Y&R''
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
and producer John F. Smith), but all soap operas during that period experienced a similar scale of massive audience erosion. She quit ''The Young and the Restless'' in late 2006, and was then hired by
Brian Frons Brian Scott Frons (born June 15, 1956) is an American television executive and the former president of ABC Daytime. Education Frons earned a master’s degree from Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1978. C ...
, president of
ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...
, to consult on its serials ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'', ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
'' and ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
''. She left ABC Daytime after declining ''All My Childrens head writer position in Spring 2007, and was hired by
Bradley Bell Bradley Phillip Bell (born June 29, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Bell is an eight-time Daytime Emmy Award winner and is executive producer and head writer for '' The Bold and the Beautiful'', an American soap opera. ...
in May 2007 to be an associate head writer for another CBS Daytime drama, ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
''. On July 18, 2008, it was announced that Alden would be appointed co-head writer of ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' in the coming weeks

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, WGA strike she went under
financial core Financial Core (also known as FiCore or Fi-Core) refers to a legal carve out that permits workers opposed to participating in a labor union to be employed under the benefits of a union's contracts without compelling them to be a member of that unio ...
statu

while working for ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
''. In 2012, Alden was spotted on the set of ''The Young and the Restless'' for the taping of the show's 10,000th episode, leading many to believe she'd re-joined the show as a writer or story consultant

However, this never came to pass. On September 21, 2016, ''Daytime Confidential'' reported that after ten years since being with the show, Alden had been hired to be story consultant at Y&R, under
Sally Sussman Sally Sussman Morina is an American documentary filmmaker, television writer, and producer. Personal life She is married to Anthony Morina, a CBS Daytime director and producer. She has gone by her married name Sally Sussman Morina on various proje ...
's tenure as
Head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
. On July 31, 2017, Daytime Confidential announced that both Alden and Sussman will be departing from the show, with
Mal Young Mal Young (born 26 January 1957) is a British television producer, screenwriter and executive producer. Career Mersey TV Young began his career in graphic design. At age 27 he began working in television, on the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brooks ...
being named as the new head writer. There is a scholarship in Alden's name from
Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...
, in
Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...
.


Personal life

She has three children and lives with her husband in Illinois.


Positions held

''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
'' *Scriptwriter: May 13, 1974–80 *Breakdown writer: 1980–87 *Script editor: 1983–85, 1986–87 *Associate head writer: 1987–97 * Co-head writer: 1997–July 3, 1998; February 16 – December 22, 2006 *
Head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...
: July 6, 1998 – February 15, 2006 *Story Consultant: December 6, 2016 – October 27, 2017 ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' * Story Consultant December 2006 – April 2007 ''
One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' *Story Consultant: December 2006 – April 2007 ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
'' * Story Consultant December 2006 – April 2007 ''
The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...
'' *Co-head writer (2008–13) *Associate Head Writer (August 6, 2007 – January 21, 2008; April 16, 2008 – 2008) *Interim Head Writer (February 5, 2008 – April 15, 2008)


Head Writing Tenure


Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
br>
*Nominations, 2008, 2009, Best Writing ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' *Nominations, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1990–1995, 1997–2001, 2003–2007, Best Writing, ''The Young and the Restless'' *Wins, 1997, 2000, 2006, Best Writing, ''The Young and the Restless''; 2010, Best Writing, ''The Bold and the Beautiful''
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
*Wins, 2002 & 2005, Best Writing, ''The Young and the Restless'' *Nominations, 1999, 2001, 2006, Best Writing, ''The Young and the Restless''


References


External links

*
MIT Comparative Media StudiesSunTimes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alden, Kay American soap opera writers American women screenwriters Daytime Emmy Award winners American women television writers Living people Writers Guild of America Award winners 1946 births People from Hutchinson, Kansas Women soap opera writers Screenwriters from Kansas 21st-century American women