Aram Saroyan
Richard Hell reviewed Aram Saroyan’s book Complete Minimal Poems in the April 27, 2008 edition of the Sunday New York Times Book Review: Saroyan’s play “The Evening Hour” was read at Pacific Resident Theatre on Wednesday, May 7, 2008.
Amy Gerstler
Read the review of Amy's book Dearest Creature (Penguin, Sept. 2009) in the New York Times.
Shelley Berman nominated for an Emmy
Shelley Berman is nominated for his role as Larry David's father on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Kenneth Turan
Patricia Cohen reviews Kenny Turan's new book, Free for All, in the November 6, 2009 edition of the New York Times.
M.G. Lord The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by M.G. Lord of the Master of Professional Writing program about plagiarism.
John Rechy
John Rechy was recognized by the University of Texas El Paso as its outstanding alumnus.
Rita Williams was a finalist in the The PEN Center USA 2007 Literary Awards competition for If the Creek Don't Rise.
Judith Freeman
Read Judith Freeman’s review of The Bishop’s Daughter by Honor Moore in the THE LOS ANGELES TIMES on May 25, 2008.
Jason Squire LOS ANGELES TIMES: Jason Squire was quoted about automakers advertising their brands through film and TV product placements. Audiences can be put off of both the movie and the product if the placement is heavy-handed, Squire said. Sometimes they backfire, he added. It’s a real judgment call.
Dinah Lenney
Dinah Lenney will be the keynote speaker at the Sacramento State Summer Writers' Conference from August 16-17, 2008. Her address will be on “Memoir as Performance: The Power of Voice.” Lenney also reviewed Assisted Loving by Bob Morris in the LOS ANGELES TIMES on June 3, 2008.
Paul M. J. Suchecki, MPW ‘99, took home his first Emmy Award for "Outdoor Electrical Safety." He wrote, produced, edited, and hosted the 1/2 hour documentary which won in instructional programming.
The Society of Professional Journalists named Stacy Davies (MPW ‘07) as a winner of its “Excellence in Journalism Award” for her review of “Girly Show” at Wignall Museum, Chaffey College in the Inland Empire Weekly.
The poem “Icarus All Grown” and a prose poem/monologue titled “An Autobiography of My Mother (Having Only to Do With Me)” by Jalondra A. Davis (MPW ‘07) were published in The Truth About the Fact: An International Journal of Literary Nonfiction, Volume IV by Loyola Marymount University. Read her piece “Daddy” that was published in Volume I.
Tom Dolby (MPW ’03) was nominated for “Author on the Brink of Fame” by Logo TV, which broadcast its “NewNowNext Awards” on June 7th.
The mini-musical “The Rightful Monarch of America” by Cynthia Lewis Ferrell (MPW ‘06) goes onstage at the Colony Theatre in Burbank on June 23-24, 2008. Developed with Disney composer Carl Johnson and Avenue Q lyricistJeff Marx,the musical comedy willbeproduced by ANMT. Ferrell’s full-length play, “Mean High Tide,” launched in Donald Freed’s class, placed 31st in the 76th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. The contest attracted some 19,000 entries across all categories. Ferrell is an adjunct professor of playwriting at Pepperdine University and oversees grantwriting at the Rubicon Theatre, the professionalEquityhouse in Ventura, California.
Catherine Zeta-Jones has become a supporting patron of the Swansea Life Film Festival in Swansea Wales, UK. The 2008 festival featured “The Swimmer Manuscript” by Joseph Kenny (MPW ‘86), nominated for the festival’s “The Dylan Thomas Award for Original Screenplay.” The festival ran at Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre from May 31 to June 7, 2008.
Bobby D. Lux (MPW ’05) recently published his book of short stories, The Exciting Life and Death of The Amazing Henry and Other Stories..
Jethro Nededog's (MPW 2006) thesis screenplay, "Drag," won first place at The 2006 Indie Gathering Film Festival for drama. An earlier draft was a semifinalist in the 2006 Los Angeles Outfest Screenwriting Competition. He just finished producing four episodes of "Ultimate Factories," a documentary series for the National Geographic Channel.
Emily Brauer (MPW 2005) has produced two full-length plays: "Searching for Americana" and "Hard Core: Women's Reflections on Iraq." A Composition Lecturer at University of California, Irvine, she is also Managing Director for Hunger Artists Theatre Company, which is producing a short play festival in September.
Koji Steven Sakai's (MPW 2003) first feature film "Haunted Highway," was directed by Junichi Suzuki and distributed by Lions Gate DVD in 2006. He is expecting an additional four to seven feature-length films to go into production in 2007.
Universal Pictures' "Georgia Rule" starring Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, and Felicity Huffman was written by MPW alumnus Mark Andrus. Andrus received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay "As Good as It Gets," wrote "Life as a House," and the adaptation for "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."
Joni Winn Hilton's (MPW 1981) latest play, "Rock, Paper, Scissors," won the Long Beach Playhouse 2006 contest, and is scheduled for world premiere at the Manhattan Beach Community Theatre on October 26-29 and November 2-3, 2007.
