I’ve had some life changes (we searched for, found, bought a house, and after some relatively minor repairs, are now filling up with new furniture) that have kept me from updating my website and this blog) for quite a while. So here’s a catch-up…

The most important professional news I’ve had is that my play “THE FRISCO FLASH” made it to semi-finals of the National Playwrights Conference a.k.a. The O’Neill. I’ve never made it to even quarter-finals before (and suspiciously in the past the winners always seemed to be established playwrights but now a blind submission really does seem to be blind. Unfortunately, semi-finalists don’t get mentioned on the website, so here is a screenshot of my email from the O’Neill:

Even though I’ve revised “DON’T EAT PAPER!” into a shorter, tighter screenplay, I’m only submitting to a select group now (like the Nicholl). In the end, I just don’t see these competitions as cost effective. Of of the few that I did submit to, I recently did score a Semi-Finalist rank in 2026 Outstanding Screenplays Feature competition:

Now, to contradict my assertion that most of these script competitions have proved to not be cost effective, the Glendale (CA) International Film Festival, though a small local festival, proved to be an exception to the rule. I highly recommend people submit to it. It’s well run. They communicate. They care about film and their city. They treat the screenwriters with respect. Both the opening party and the awards ceremony included free food and drink that was quite good. Plus of course, there were good screenings and panels that the writers could also attend. I went to one with art directors and set decorators.

The closing ceremony for Glendale was held in a historic building (the Glen Arden Club) where the local Moose (like the Elks, Lions etc) lodge meet among other events.

Mark DeCarlo (who actually has been on TV and won an Emmy) was the host. I won’t say all of his jokes were fresh and funny, but some were and he kept things moving in a professional way, better than any other host at a small festival ceremony.

I don’t love the picture of me, but it shows I was there at least…

Finally, this also goes back to 2025. The script for “PRAY WITH A BULLET” was put into the miscellaneous category for FilmQuest (a well regarded genre festival focusing on horror and sci-fi thus why a thriller didn’t really fit but they clearly liked the script). I include it in this post particularly because it’s one of the coolest official laurels I’ve gotten.