The Creative Writing Life

This week Paul chatted with Jennifer Manocherian on her work in theater and teaching writing. https://thepeacestudio.org/board-bio-jennifer-manocherian/ Theater Producer and Writer Jennifer Manocherian has been a Broadway and off-Broadway theatre producer for over thirty years. She wrote the book of a musical, Marry Harry, with composers Dan Martin and Michael Biello, which had a production at the York Theatre in NY, then was filmed in a sound studio for online streaming (amazon prime video, www.streamingmusicals.com and broadwayondemand.com). The same team wrote a short musical for streaming that will be available shortly. She wrote and produced the film Family Blues, also on amazon prime video, and has another film planned for filming next year. Aside from other writing projects, she teaches introductory screenwriting at The Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute. Prior to her career as a producer, she was a family therapist and a divorce mediator. Jennifer serves on the board of New York Stage & Film, a nonprofit devoted to developing new works.

Paul Zeidman sat down with Charles D'Amico, Award-winning Author, Founder & President of Blue Handle Publishing and Book Puma Author Services. They discussed writing, editing and publishing. https://bluehandlepublishing.com/ https://bookpumalive.com/

Paul spoke with Tonya Todd about writing books and screenplays, directing, and being part of your local writing community. Tonya Todd is an author, actress, and Sin City cinephile, whose sundry background ranges from content writer to software programmer to convention model. With a cast of characters as diverse as her careers, her fiction explores the infinite hues of what drives us all: relationships and desires. Lack of diversity in literature inspired Tonya’s stories. Her involvement in the literary, theatre, and filmmaking communities provides a platform to champion marginalized artists and contribute toward an environment that embraces a variety of voices. Tonya served on the board as Henderson Writers Group’s Education Chair for four years and still and coordinates their Dime Grinds, a program that exposes authors to the public via monthly meet-and-greets. An active literary citizen, she also belongs to Las Vegas Screenwriters and Writers of Southern Nevada. She has short stories in Vegas Writes: Love in the Dunes, Tales from the Silver State IV, and Authors Portraits LV. Her non-fiction is featured in NPR's Desert Companion. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

Evan Gow shares his awesome creation, StoryOrigin! Find it here: https://storyoriginapp.com StoryOrigin is an all-in-one platform for authors to connect, team up for group promos, build and swap mailing lists, upload reader magnets, and more. With the unique opportunities StoryOrigin provides, Evan has helped thousands of authors get discovered, build communities, and become successful. StoryOrigin is currently in open beta and can be used for free at storyoriginapp.com.

This week, Justin and Paul sat down to discuss their experiences at the 2023 Austin Film Festival (#AFF23). It was great! What panels and events did we like? Will we be there next year? Listen in to find out!

This week on the Creative Writing Life podcast we were joined by Antony Johnston! He is a great writer with credits on such games as Dead Space and Shadow of Mordor, along with fun graphic novels and prose novels. On the show, we discussed his GDC talk on leading writers rooms, being an organized wrier, along with his experience writing mystery novels and amazing videogames. Find his books here: https://antonyjohnston.com/work/books/ BIO:  Antony Johnston is one of the most versatile writers of the modern era. The Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde was based on his graphic novel. His murder mystery The Dog Sitter Detective won the Barker Book Award for fiction. The Brigitte Sharp spy thrillers are in development for TV. And his productivity guide The Organised Writer has helped authors all over the world take control of their workload. Antony is a celebrated videogames writer, with genre-defining titles including Dead Space, Shadow of Mordor, and Resident Evil Village to his credit. His work on Silent Hill Ascension made him the only writer in the world to have contributed to all of gaming’s ‘big three’ horror franchises. His immense body of work also includes Marvel superheroes such as Daredevil and Shang-Chi, the Alex Rider graphic novels, the post-apocalypse epic Wasteland, and more. He wrote and directed the sci-fi film Crossover Point, made entirely in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. An experienced podcaster and public speaker, he also frequently writes articles on the life of an author, and is a prolific musician. Antony is a former vice chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, a member of International Thriller Writers and the Society of Authors, a Shore Scripts screenwriting judge, and sits on the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain’s videogames committee. He lives and works in England.

Justin and Paul discuss the exciting panels of this year's Austin Film Festival - 2023, the 30th anniversary of the fest! Not sure what panels to attend, or just looking for a good idea of what happens at the festival and what to be excited about? Here you go! Panelists and Awardees - Austin Film Festival

Neel Upadhye joined the Creative Writing Life podcast to discuss his years in the film and video game industry writing for major gaming franchises including Battlefield 2042, Apex Legends, and Need For Speed Unbound. Enjoy! ABOUT: Neel is VP of Production at Azra Games, leading the development team of Project Legends, an Action RPG for PC & mobile. He is an innovative storyteller with 14+ years in the film and video game industry. Born in India and a graduate of USC, Neel has written and directed a feature film on Amazon Prime, a TV pilot for Disney, and two Star Wars short films produced by ILM, including Star Wars: Squadrons - "Hunted," winner of the Silver Pencil. Neel was a writer and director on the narrative team of Battlefield 2042 and lead writer on Need for Speed Unbound. He’s also the creator of multiple internet-breaking shorts for the billion dollar gaming franchise, Apex Legends. From video game IPs such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect to his own original worlds, he's inspired cross disciplinary teams to produce unique creative that breaks the mold. Neel is repped as a writer/director at William Morris Endeavor and Anonymous Content. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2244762/

Jenny Stiven joined the Creative Writing Life podcast to discuss franchise development and marketing. ABOUT JENNY Jenny Stiven’s formative years were defined by such geek/sci-fi properties as Star Wars, Aliens, Star Trek, Stargate (all the "Stars-"!), and now as a consultant and digital strategist, she brings fandoms and their content owners together! After a decade of learning the ropes programming, coding, producing, content, writing, marketing, site builds, media buys, and more, Jenny created Clio Consulting in 2004 to act as an “inside” digital marketing resource for entertainment companies. She has worked with numerous digital agencies in executive roles producing groundbreaking and award-winning campaigns for Fortune 500 entertainment & gaming clients. A long relationship with 20th Century Fox and MGM enabled her to become a geek influencer in the digital and social space – with the Star Wars properties, the James Bond franchise, Predator franchise, Stargate franchise, Alien franchise, the Whedon-verse, and multiple TV franchises. In 2015, Jenny shifted her focus back to solely working with her first love - geek properties, content, and fandoms. She works with both the intellectual property owners and creators to help them learn how to communicate, interact, and most of all, build a long-lasting relationship with their fandoms. She also provides guidance on the best partnerships with leading strategic products and influencers, so that the intellectual property owners and/or fandoms, are setting the right tone for their franchise. Jenny believes the goal for geek properties should always be not just to sell, but to #spendthetime and build a community that lasts. https://tabletop.events/conventions/dragonsteel-2023 https://twitter.com/JennyStiven

Katryn Bury joins the Creative Writing Life podcast to discuss writing middle grade (#MiddleGrade) fiction and mysteries, and why she loves Nancy Drew books. Learn more at: https://www.katrynbury.com ABOUT KATRYN Katryn Bury is the author of the middle grade mystery Drew Leclair Gets a Clue and the forthcoming sequel Drew Leclair Crushes the Case. A lifelong true crime nerd, she has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology. Her short and serialized fiction can be found in Suspense Magazine and The Sleuth. By day, she is a library technician who is lucky enough to work with her target audience. She lives in Oakland, California, with her family and a vast collection of Nancy Drew mysteries.