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The Gadget that I had in this blog's sidebar to update with my tweets appears not to be  supported any more by Blogger, alas. But please do follow me on Twitter for musings about The 100, Parish Mail, writing, games, life in Los Angeles, and other randomness.

"Spexism": Gender and Spec Screenplay Sales

It seems that whenever I read about a spec screenplay sale in the trades, in pretty much every case the screenwriter is male. Turns out it's not confirmation bias, it's true.

Susana Orozco dug through the stats for Go Into the Story, and their cool if sobering infographic starkly lays out gender disparity in the spec market, a worse gap than in TV writing, which is saying something. Spec script sales for women hit a new low in 2012, with 12 scripts sold by women out of 127 total.

Entertainment website The Wrap picked up the story, which it names "Spexism."

I'd be interested to see the genre breakdown of those 12 sales: I wonder if they're the more typically "female" types of movies such as family dramas and romantic comedies. Of course, there are female screenwriters who work in traditionally male genres such as science fiction, action, and comedy (including The Heat's Katie Dippold), but we've got a long way to go for parity for women and writers of color. The diversity of movies we watch can only be helped by diversity all along the line, in front of and behind the camera.

Seasonal Defective Disorder

Chalk it up to school or years working as a writer, but my psychological sense of the seasons is all screwed up. And and that's leaving aside living in Los Angeles, where the weather is consistent (and pleasant) enough to more or less obliterate your sense of time passing.

For example, spring makes me sad. Usually a season that means that the world is blooming and starting anew, spring to me feels like things are ending: the school year, the theater season, the writers' room for many TV shows.

But fall, on the other hand... even as the world starts turning to winter, it's fall that feels like excitement and anticipation, not spring, because things are kicking off. Students go back to school. Theater companies start rehearsals for their new plays. And in cable TV, where I've worked for the last several years, fall is when a number of writers' rooms get going.

This year, for the first time since working on MOONLIGHT for CBS, I have reason to feel that autumnal giddy sense of new beginnings in the summertime. I've just started working on a new TV show coming to the CW for midseason called THE 100, based on the upcoming YA novel by Kass Morgan. If you like the CW's unique blend of sexy and edgy combined with cool genre/sci fi elements (think BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE WALKING DEAD, and LOST) you're going to love THE 100.

Check out this awesome trailer:

I can't wait for you all to see more -- it's going to be fantastic.

And as if that's not enough, I have another new project to announce: I've just broken ground on the next Parish Mail! I'll be sharing more about it soon, but this episode is something I talked to the Coliloquy folks about right when we discussed my coming on board as an author. It's got a special angle both in terms of format and content that we're all excited about. It's scrambling my brain a little bit (in a fun way), and I'll explain why soon.

So, lots of new stuff starting. Summer is the new spring! (or fall. See, I told you I was screwed up...)

What about you? Do you adore blustery, cozy wintertime? Hate hot, hazy summer? Discuss in the comments.

Parish Mail Comes to iBooks and Kobo

I'm excited to announce that Dead Letter Office and Post Mortem are now available in yet more places:

Dead Letter Office on iBooks
Post Mortem on iBooks
Both Parish Mail books on Kobo

And DLO is still on sale for 99 cents across all platforms, but not for long...