PENNY JACKSON
Novelist, Playwright, and Screenwriter.
LINKS TO MY PUBLICATIONS IN BOTH FICTION AND THEATER.
Novel and short story collection are available in paperback and in Kindle format.
Monologues and scenes for older actors. | Monologues for contemporary theater.
BEFORE, a monologue for teenage male actors, is included in The Best American Short Plays of 2016.
Short comedic monologues. | Monologues and scenes for the young teen actor.
What's New
So happy and honored that OVERDUE has just won three awards for the Momòhill Film Festival for Best Short Film, Best Actress and Audience Choice Award. Our romance has touched many hearts.
So happy to announce that my new short story collection, My Daughter's Boyfriends, will be released March 23rd, 2023 by Untreed Reads. Here is the link to buy my book and the description.
My Daughter’s Boyfriends is a short story collection from the Pushcart Prize–winning writer Penny Jackson. Her female narrators explore the loss of love and innocence, as well as the strength to overcome adversity and the need for redemption. Original, entertaining, thought-provoking, My Daughter’s Boyfriends will prove to be of special appeal to readers with an interest in coming-of-age stories about women.
Link here to purchase.
OVERDUE had so much love at The Beaufort Film Festival with our lead female actor, Jeanine Bartel, nominated for best actor.
Here is my director/co-writer Melissa Skirboll and I on the red carpet before our film's screening.
The very happy filmmakers celebrating in beautiful historic Beaufort, South Carolina!
Thank you so much Austin Revolution Film Festival for honoring OVERDUE with "Best Short-Film Romance" and "Director's Award For Best Short Script." Here is our team celebrating in Austin.
Honored to have a story in Lilith Magazine's first book of fiction — stories collected from decades of publication. My prize-winning short story "My Daughter's Boyfriends" is included in this groundbreaking collection titled Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine.
My new story "Paul Is Dead" was just published by Half and One Literary Magazine. This is a semi-autobiographical story about The Beatles, friendship, and loss. Love this illustration.
An award from London, England for OVERDUE. We are so happy for this international recognition for Best Romance Short Film from The Freewheeling Film Awards.
Thrilled to announce that my short film OVERDUE, based on my play, has been awarded nine awards from The Southern Short Awards Film Festival including best direction, best editing, best acting, best sound design, best cinematography, and best production design.
My first award for a film producer. A wonderful achievement for all!
OVERDUE wins for best short screenplay at one of my favorite film festivals: Fort Myers International Film Festival.
We are so proud of the continuing achievement of the recognition of women's stories.
OVERDUE is thrilled to win best romantic short screenplay at The Austin Revolution Film Festival. A true honor.
Another award of OVERDUE for best short drama screenplay at The Garden State Film Festival.
The screenplay for OVERDUE is the Screenplay Award Winner for "Best Relationship Drama" at the Oregon Short Film Festival.
Here is a sneak peak of OVERDUE that was shot this November at The Brazen Tavern near Times Square.
Photos credit: Tracy Boak.
One of my favorite and autobiographical stories, "Blue Moon On Riverside" has just been published in The Write Launch. You can read the story here.
The screenplay for "Greetings From Sarajevo" was selected as a finalist in the screenplay competition in The Austin Revolution Film Festival. So honored. Everyone loves this festival!
"OVERDUE"
Thrilled we have finished filming our third short film with my collaborator Melissa Skirboll. The screenplay has already won an award for Best Relationship Drama from The Oregon Short Film Festival.
​We finished shooting November 22nd at The Brazen Tavern near Times Square. Here is our happy team of actors, our director, cinematographer, and crew. A wonderful shoot and so proud. Please follow us on Facebook.
Our film GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO received a five-star review from TAKE 2 Indie Review.
"Greetings From Sarajevo Makes "US" the judge on the complexity of war crimes and personal revenge..." Read the review here.
Thrilled beyond belief that my short story "My Daughter's Boyfriends" received first prize in the fiction contest sponsored by Lilith Magazine.
MICHAL GAVISH, GENE EXPRESSION, 2020; ©MICHAL GAVISH
This story will be reprinted in an anthology and already has a following in Israel.
Here is the story. Enjoy.
Truly honored that our film Greetings From Sarajevo won best short and best actress from the NYC TV Film Festival 2021.
Enjoy this trailer for Greetings From Sarajevo.
My play DIRECTIONS which was recently performed at The Warner Theatre's 9th International Theater Festival in Torrington, CT was chosen as one of the best ten-minutes plays of 2021 and will be published in the anthology by Smith and Kraus publishers.
Below is a scene from the play with actors Priscilla Squires and Kelly White from a live performance, November 2020.
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Here is a link to a review that described the play as "spellbinding" and "hard hitting."
THE BATTLES OF RICHMOND HILL is the recipient of Southwest Theatre Productions Rising Artists Competition. The reading will be in Austin, Texas, TBD.
I am so grateful for Next Stages Press who will be publishing THE BATTLES OF RICHMOND HILL. The play will be available January 1st — a lovely intro to the new year.
Very honored that GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO is a screenplay competition winner and will be performed in a podcast courtesy of Six-Page Scripts in November, 2020.
Very honored to receive this award from Indie Film Awards for my screenplay "Greetings From Sarajevo." Other nominations for the film include Best Directing and Editing, Best Actress, Best Sound, Best Music, and Best Cinematography.
The screenplay of GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO was accepted by the prestigious Austin Revolution Film Festival that will be held next March.
Southern Shorts Awards Film festival awarded Greetings From Sarajevo seven Awards of Merit including best acting, editing, sound, cinematography, production design and music.
Here is one of the awards for director/editor Melissa Skirboll.
Another great review for GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO
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"While the festival world has been interrupted by the current COVID-19 pandemic, Greetings from Sarajevo is a short film that deserves to be seen by a wider audience and one can only hope that this nasty virus steps aside and the indie world checks out this quiet yet engaging and human thriller."
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– The Independent Critic
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So honored that my screenplay GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO is an award winner for The Festigious Film Festival Screenplay competition.
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Our new film GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO is finished and has already been in several festivals, been nominated in many categories and has won for best film.
This ten-minute thriller features two excellent female leads and asks can revenge truly bring redemption. I wrote the film and my film collaborator Melissa Skirboll directed this in one day in Times Square and The Upper West Side. Already the film has received a four stars review from UK film review. You can read the review here.
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Go to our GREETINGS FROM SARAJEVO page for more information.
Thank you The Independent Critic for a wonderful review of MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY.
"The script by Jackson and Skirboll is an entertaining gut-check that beautifully balances the film's comic and dramatic moments to perfection. While the festival world has been thrown into disarray by the COVID-19 pandemic, My Dinner With Schwartzey continues its festival circuit journey with scheduled fall dates at Fort Myers Beach International Film Festival and Hang Onto Your Shorts Film Festival.
The film has already picked up a slew of festival awards at Brightside Tavern Film Festival (Best Director - Comedy), Changing Face International Film Festival (Best Comedy Short - February Award), Direct Monthly Online Film Festival (Best Film; Best D.O.P. - January Awards), Long Island International Film Expo (Best Cinematography; Best Editing) and several others. There's no doubt the awards will continue."
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Here is our most recent update for MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY. Please click on the image below to read about our award-winning film.
MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY
had a great year!
Starting with our world premiere at the prestigious (Oscar Qualifying) Bermuda International Film Festival in March, we've screened in 22 festivals in 6 countries! We've been nominated for 27 awards and won 8!
Best Dramedy (two wins)
Best Actress ZOE WILSON (two wins)
Best Director MELISSA SKIRBOLL
Best Cinematographer ALEXA WOLF
Best Editor EVAN METZOLD
and
Filmmaker of the Year MELISSA SKIRBOLL!
Got Recent Awards for My Dinner With Schwartzey!
Schwartzey - Behind The Story: The Women Behind The Man
Here is the pre-trailer to the film titled SCHWARTZEY - BEHIND THE STORY. The two main women in the film, Fiona and Dorothy, discuss how Schwartzey discovered them and changed their lives.
Exciting times ahead as MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY continues to wow the world!
Recent Awards:
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Zoe Wilson as Best Actor in a Short Film at the East Hampton Television and Film Festival in July, 2019
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Alexa Wolfe Best Cinemetography in the Long Island Film Expo July 2019
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Evan Metzold Best Editing Long Island Film Expo July 2019
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Winner: Best Dramedy Manhattan Film Festival April 2019
On August 31st at 1PM Schwartzey will screen in Brewster, NY at the VOB Film Festival in Brewster, NY 8/31/19 1:00PM.
Penny Jackson and Melissa Skirboll will both be participating in the panel discussion "Inspiration and Perspiration" following the screening at 3:15PM.
On September 22nd at 2:00 PM, Schwartzey screens at the Golden Door Film Festival in Jersey City, NJ.
Coming up in October we are heading to Mexico and to Sweden with screenings at the Oaxaca Film Festival and the Västerås FilmFestival.
Three of my poems, titled Playground One, Two and Three, will be published by the wonderful literary magazine Mothers Always Write.
First review of THE BATTLES OF RICHMOND HILL is terrific:
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“The Battles of Richmond Hills” is a wonderful play with top notch performances and a story that will have you laughing one minute and bawling like a baby the next (I know I was). The relationships all feel as real as any family and it makes us long for everything to work out. Penny Jackson manages to create a story that anyone can connect to. One that I look forward to seeing more of in the future.
My play THE BATTLES OF RICHMOND HILL has been chosen as part of the curated SubletSeries at HERE Theater in their MainStage.
"Too much vodka, secrets, a marriage proposal, ghosts and a dangerous Christmas tree. Welcome to The Dublin Rose – a bar where a young doctor must convince his beloved grandmother to leave."
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Performances will begin for a three-week run from April 26th to May 12th at HERE Theater at 145 6th Ave, New York, NY 10013. More information about tickets to follow.
Linked below are two interviews in which I discuss the differences between writing a new play and writing a new film. Very grateful to have my thoughts published.
New podcast interview where I talk about my plays I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT, BEFORE, my new play THE BATTLES OF RICHMOND HILL and my film MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY with Gena Kato, publisher of Next Stage Press.
Two monologues from two different plays (SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING and GOING UP) will be published in CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUES FOR THE NEW THEATER by Applause Acting Series and edited by Cate Cammarata. Click here to order.
My monologue PHOENIX will be performed in March on both sides of the coast as part of Emerging Artists Theatre in New Work Series in New York City and Acting Out Ink Fest 2018 in Los Angeles.
A scene from my play BITTEN is included in this anthology: The Best Monologues And Scenes For Actors Over Fifty.
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I decided I wanted to write about a seventy year old woman struggling for her independence even though she knows she can no longer live alone.
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This play was the only American finalist in The Kenneth Branagh Drama Prize at The Windsor Fringe, and was performed at The International Dublin Gay Theater Festival in 2014.
My play BEFORE was chosen as one of the best American Short Plays in 2015-2016 and is published by Applause Theatre Books.
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From the introduction by the editor John Patrick Bray: "In BEFORE, we meet an eighteen-year-old boy whose best friend has given him a pistol.
Whether or not he murders his ex-girlfriend, he knows, he will never be the same — he has lost a sense of self."
My comedic monologue THE WEDDING PLAN is included in the 222 MORE COMEDY MONOLOGUES published by Smith and Kraus.
I am honored to be with such remarkable playwrights as Lisa Loomer and Christoper Durang.
My play, A DIFFERENT PLACE, about refugees, was chosen as one of the four plays for The Gary Garrison Play Contest sponsored by Studio 33.
I am proud that I am the only female playwright represented by this festival.
My short play BEFORE will be published in THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2015-2016 by APPLAUSE THEATRE books.
Thrilled that his play about a teenager grappling with gun violence will be available for all to read and hopefully perform.
91 Central Productions presents
SAFE
Written by PENNY JACKSON
Directed by GLORY KADIGAN
September 17th-October 9th. All tickets $18. ​
When an intriguing older man enters a teenage girl's life, he threatens her relationship with her already estranged father and her best friend as a mystery turns to danger.
SAFE will be performed at The Theater at the 14th Street Y as part of their curated drama series. The theater is located at 344 East 14th street.
Cast: Sawyer Spielberg ,* Meghan St. Thomas ,* Joel Nagle ,* Jill Shackner **Actors appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association.
Theater information Phone: 646-393-439.
Buy Tickets here.
I recently joined Playwrights for A Cause Lineup at Atlantic Theatre - Check out the Broadway World article here.
Check out this interview featured on the Kanlaon blog.
Read it Here.
I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT is one of Indie Theater Now's Best selling play for the second year!
It was also chosen to be part of the Theater Appreciation curriculum at The University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
The play, published by Next Stage Press, is available for purchase at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and The Drama Book Shop in New York City.
Honored to receive "Outstanding Playwright of a New Play In A Reading" for EMERALD GIRL at The Planet Connections Theatre Festival, 2015.
Very proud to be part of The Necessary Exposure: The Female Playwright Project that was presented September 1 at Dixon Place. This installation includes photographs of female playwrights and sound recording of their plays My play, BEFORE, performed by Peter Collier, will be available on iTunes Podcast.