Sci-Fi Screenwriter
About
I hold a deep belief in the power of story to change the world. Stories awaken, heal, comfort, and inspire us to stretch and strive to do better and to be better. I have a fierce and particular passion for science fiction because it reveals deeper truths about our culture and possible futures when we look through the lens of alternative sci-fi worlds and universes.
My love for sci-fi began when my father handed me a copy of Arthur C. Clarke’s The City and the Stars and said, “You might like this one.” Star Wars followed shortly thereafter. I've been reading and watching sci-fi voraciously ever since, and was once labeled “the coolest mom in the class” when I told my son’s then first-grade classmates that my favorite books to read were the ones with either spaceships or dragons (and sometimes both!).
I write mythic, dramatic sci-fi and fantasy stories often with deeper spiritual aspects, grounded through simple but powerful human relationships at their core.
I've written a number of features and developed several others, crafted a handful of shorts and short stories, and been hired to work on several projects, including working as a sci-fi consultant for a spec TV series pitch.
Bio
Jenna Avery is a sci-fi and fantasy screenwriter, sci-fi story consultant, and columnist for Final Draft and Script Magazine. She is known for her strong female protagonists and her visceral and cinematic writing style. Her most recently completed spec project is a sci-fi drama, Visitation, and she recently completed a feature length script for Faranj Productions, Inc.
Jenna is a graduate of ScreenwritingU’s ProSeries, designed by Hal Croasmun, a well-known expert in the screenwriting world, and participated in their advanced Master Screenwriter Certificate program. Jenna also completed a year of mentoring with screenwriting expert Chris Soth, creator of the “mini-movie method,” studied with Corey Mandell, an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written for major studios and industry players, including Ridley Scott and Universal Studios, and has mentored with screenwriter Jeffrey Howard (Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game, Wytches).
Although her childhood dream was to write, Jenna took a few twists and turns through other careers as an urban designer and life coach, giving her a wide breadth of experience to draw upon in her writing. She is also a writer, editor, online instructor, columnist, and writing coach who specializes in helping writers make the work of writing actually happen.
Jenna lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, with her husband, two sons, and too many cats and occasional foster kittens.
Scripts
Entangled
Feature. A scientist known for her practical thinking is haunted by visions of a lost lover on a distant planet, and finds herself reluctantly believing that this could be her true soul mate of multiple lifetimes.
Visitation
Feature. 16-year-old Aly encounters an alien who can reunite people with their lost loved ones, and is overjoyed to see her mom again… only to face losing her once more when they help the alien escape local vigilantes and the feds.
Space Race
TV Pilot. Two sisters compete in a quest across the wide reaches of space against hot shot space racers to locate a massive fortune hidden by an eccentric corporate quintillionaire.
Highlights
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The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.
