Jen Frankel
BIO
Biography

Jen Frankel's recent publications reflect the diversity of her writing, from poems in the Bruce Kauffman-edited anthology More Than A Gathering to stories in Analog Science Fiction & Fact and Amazing Stories magazine. She has spent her life as a creator, mentor, and facilitator of readings, performances, and events that feature the work of other authors and performers.

Her current "main event" is the Write On! Write Now literary open mic at Bampot House of Tea in Toronto, now in its third year. This weekly event features upwards of twenty prose and poetry performances and has been functioning at capacity almost since its beginning.

Previously, she was Director of Development for Wildcard Pictures Corp and a monthly screenplay reading series at the National Film Board in Toronto. In this capacity, she wrote feedback for upwards of 10,000 feature, short, and television scripts and mentored hundreds of screenwriters at various stages of their careers.

Up until COVID, Jen was a frequent guest at literary and genre conventions in Canada and across the continent where she was featured in panels and as a vendor. Her press, XenoProductions, allows her to self-publish some of her work while she is also traditionally published by publishers including Eerie River, Ghost Orchid, Dark Dragon, Improbable Press and Dark Helix Press. For Dark Helix, she has also edited an anthology of speculative short fiction featuring 100 authors from around the world, and a collection of short fiction from American feminist sci-fi scholar Marleen S. Barr.

Through her press, she has just published a 10th anniversary edition of her Amazon best-selling novel Undead Redhead and a collection of her poems called Mayhaps: Poetry of Longing, Loss & Love.

ADDRESS
City: Hamilton, Province/Territory: Ontario
EMAIL
GENRE
Speculative Fiction, Poetry, Libretti
LANGUAGES
English
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Title
Undead Redhead
Publisher
XenoProductions
Year
2014, 2024
Title
Mayhaps: Poetry of Longing, Loss & Love
Publisher
XenoProductions
Year
2023
Title
#Loving Sexy Drivel by eugenestyles1 (editor and publisher)
Publisher
XenoProductions
Year
2023
Title
How to Succeed In Skeleton Business (publisher)
Publisher
XenoProductions
Year
2024
AWARDS
Awards
Name
Best Reserve Screenplay (for "Minnie Finster")
Publication
Female Eye Film Festival
Year
2015
Name
Audience Choice Award (for "Minnie Finster")
Publication
Female Eye Film Festival
Year
2015
Name
Jury Award (for "Alien House Party")
Publication
Female Eye Film Festival
Year
2014
Name
Spirit of the Fringe (for "I Was a Small-Town Stripper Until I Became a Big City Lesbian")
Publication
London Fringe Festival
Year
2005
Name
Guthrie Award (for "The Last Rite")
Publication
Stratford Shakespearean Festival
Year
2004
Name
Winner - Poetry competition
Publication
Stratford Public Library / CJCS Radio Poetry Competition
Year
2004
Name
Winner - Poetry competition
Publication
Stratford Public Library / CJCS Radio Poetry Competition
Year
2003
Name
Runner-up
Publication
International 3-Day Novel Writing Competition
Year
2004
Name
Winner, Screenwriting Award (for "This Is... The End of the World")
Publication
Island Media Arts Co-op (PEI)
Year
2003
Name
1st Place winner (for "The Junkyard War")
Publication
Grand Theatre (London)
Year
1997
Name
3rd place winner (with Susan Surry, for "Time")
Publication
Grand Theatre (London)
Year
1998
Name
Semi-finalist (for "Minnie Finster")
Publication
Final Draft
Year
2011
Name
Semi-finalist (for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent - Morlock")
Publication
Scriptapalooza TV
Year
2010
Name
Semi-finalist (for "Alien House Party")
Publication
Scriptapalooza
Year
2009
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Presentation details
Audience Size
Audience size
10-100+
Presentation Genre
De-Mystifying Publishing
Presentation Length
1x90 min (60 min presentation + 30 min Q&A)
Presentation Description
Presentation description

What's the next step when you've written your masterpiece?

Jen Frankel will de-mystify the path a piece of writing takes on its journey from your hands to a reader's. How do you make sure your work is good enough? (editing, peer review) How do you find a publisher? (publishing resources) Do you need an agent? (agent resources) If you publish something yourself, how do you find an audience? (marketing resources) And if you have a piece accepted for publication, what do you need to know?

By polling the audience at the start of her presentation, Jen will get an idea of the level of writing most of them are currently functioning at, and the best sections of her presentation to focus on. By leaving lots of room for Q&A, Jen can help attendees learn how to answer other questions they have on their own by pointing them toward online and in-person resources, and otherwise taking the fear out of one of the scariest parts of wanting to write: getting your work out into the world.

Presentation Fee(s)
$500/20 or fewer, $800 for 21-50 people, $1000 for 51+
Workshop details
Audience Size
So You Have an Idea. What Now?
Intended Audience
Can be tweaked for the following audiences: young adult: grades 6-8 young adult: grades 9-12 new adult: ages 19-25 adult: 25+
Workshop Length
45 min + 10-15 min Q&A
Workshop Description
Workshop description

So you have an idea. Now what? Getting your words on the page is the next step, but what does that mean? Is your idea going to turn into a book, a short story, a poem, a screenplay? How do you know what it's supposed to be?

Jen Frankel will talk about different formats and media from short fiction to novels, from teleplays to feature scripts and give context to what pursuing your idea in any of these mediums actually means. Some are faster to achieve a satisfying placement while others are more competitive, more or less remunerative, could take you years to see a return either in connecting with an audience or seeing any money from your work.

Lots of time will be left at the end of the presentation to let the audience ask questions about specific projects or markets.

Workshop Fee(s)
$25/participant for adults, minimum of 10 participants per session, $10/participant for young adults under 20 yrs, minimum 20 participants
School presentation details
Audience Size
20-35
Intended Audience
grade 12 (Writer's Craft)
Presentation Length
45 min
Presentation Description
Presentation description

The Writer's Business

Jen will present to hopeful young writers on the subject of the business of writing. How do you prepare a manuscript for submission? How do you find publishers? How do you make sure your work is edited well enough to submit to a professional market? How much do writers get paid?

She will also discuss building a writers' community through open mics, peer feedback, and magazines and chapbook publishing.

Time will be left at the end of the session for questions from individual students.

Presentation Fee(s)
$250 virtual visit, $500 in person within 100 km of Hamilton ON
EQUITY INITIATIVE
As part of the Union’s Equity Implementation Plan, we are committed to increasing awareness of authors who are Black, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQI2S, or living with a disability. This author identifies as:
Members who identify as:
Living with a disability
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
Yes
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
Yes