Empower a Writer's Journey: Fund a Tokyo Retreat Experience

Friends!

I am excited to announce that I have been accepted to study at a month-long writer's retreat in Tokyo, Japan! As described on their website, this program, "... is designed to equip aspiring freelancers with the confidence, skills and experience to pitch and publish their writing."

Unfortunately, financing this endeavor will be challenging. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated - more than I could possibly express here. With your help, I may be able to enjoy what could be a life-altering opportunity (and in my favorite country no less!)

About Me:

I graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Drama and a minor in Film Studies. While at UVA, I studied as a J. Sanford Miller Arts Scholar, an exclusive group of artists from all mediums that engage in interdisciplinary work and seek to be ambassadors of the arts on university grounds. It was this program that partially funded my first foray into filmmaking: My debut short film, "Farewell Old Stringy" (Writer/Director), lauded for its full heart and exemplary performances, screened as an Official Selection at five film festivals nationwide, most notably the 2014 Virginia Film Festival.

Following graduation, I moved to New York and pursued a career as a performer. Early on, I was greeted by moderate success and slowly built professional momentum until the Covid-19 Pandemic stalled the world. I performed in theaters across the country and received praise for my regional turn as Billy Bibbit in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Duvid Pechenik in "A Shayna Maidel."

Notable film performance credits include a small role in Max Talisman's independent feature film "Things Like This" (releasing May 16) and "The History of Metal and Horror," a feature documentary dominating the festival circuit in which I performed opposite cult horror favorite Michael Berryman.

Following the Covid-19 Pandemic, my artistic interests shifted from performance to writing.

Notable screenwriting achievements: My short horror screenplay "Harvest" placed as a Second Rounder in the 2020 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, a Second Rounder in the 2020 ScreenCraft Film Fund, and a Quarterfinalist in the 2020 ScreenCraft Horror Screenplay Competition.

Regarding Prose, my only notable achievement thus far: I advanced through the Third and Final Round of the 2024 NYC Midnight 100-Word Microfiction Challenge (that’s a mouthful!). Upon the announcement of winners, I was listed as one of ten Honorable Mentions, presumably placing me in the Top Twenty out of over 5400 writers from around the world. Link: https://www.nycmidnight.com/mfc100/2024finalroundresults

Presently, my biggest long-term writing goal is to finish the first draft of my debut novel. 420 pages deep, 90,000 words in, I'm finally nearing the finish line after three years of dedicated work. It is a hallucinatory, experimental, (almost) auto-fictional account of the mental distress caused by a brief yet destructive stint in the City of Angels. I expect to finish the first draft by the end of the year - perfect timing, as the workshop starts in January! The lessons learned will surely be invaluable as I pursue publication!

About The Program:

As described on their website: "Astray is a storytelling project about the world and the Earth. As a publication, we seek to contemplate the breadth of human experience and engage in conversation about travel, place, culture and identity."

More about the Tokyo Workshop can be found here.

The curriculum includes:

Cost Breakdown:

Program cost: $2,970.

This includes:

My fundraising stretch goal includes an additional $3500.

This figure includes: