COMING SOON!

I have a brand new book study guide for Born to Fly... and it's FREE!  It will be uploaded to the website soon.  It's filled with over 100 pages of content.

 

Check out my redesigned website

The all new MichaelJFerrari.com

Born to Fly does NOT make it to Nicholl Fellowship Finals.

Though my script for BORN TO FLY was one of 151 semifinalists for the Nicholl Fellowship, it sadly was NOT one of the 11 finalists for the 2018 Nicholl Fellowship announced yesterday.😢

However, the academy offered one additional note of encouragement in their email:  
"Born to Fly was one of the Top 50 screenplays in the competition (out of 6,895), placing among the next 40 highest scoring scripts after the finalist scripts."

Congratulations to the Finalists:
Allison Buckmelter and Nicolas Buckmelter, American Refugee
Joey Clarke, Jr., Miles
Avi Glick, A Yacht in the Apache Junction
Ernestina Juarez, Labyrinth of Destiny
Neal McLaughlin, The Sunshine Ward
Daniel Miska, The Soldier that Wagged Her Tail
Gabriel Mizrahi, Beside Ourselves
Grace Sherman, Numbers and Words
Jordan Trippeer, Air
Wenonah Wilms, Horsehead Girls

Soon to be a major motion picture! Greg Neri's GHETTO COWBOY set to star Idris Elba

I wanted to share some very exciting news!  My friend Greg Neri's novel Ghetto Cowboy is set to be made into a film starring/produced by Idris Elba! 

Greg and I met many years ago (before either of us were novelists) when I got my first job in the film industry as a delivery driver for a movie trailer company.

(In other happenings, this week my script of Born to Fly just advanced to the semifinal round for the 2018 Nicholl Fellowship!)

BORN TO FLY chosen as quarterfinalist for 2018 Nicholl Fellowship

Some recent news:  the script adaptation of my novel Born to Fly has been chosen as a quarterfinalist for the 2018 Nicholl Fellowship!

Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriters.

BORN TO FLY chosen as a finalist for the 2017 Page International Screenwriting Awards

I'm very excited to share that my screenplay adaptation of my novel Born to Fly has been chosen as a finalist for the 2017 Page International Screenwriting Awards in the Family Film category! 

The scripts are judged by Hollywood film producers, agents, managers, and development executives. A number of previous winners have sold their scripts and had them produced.

The winners will be announced Oct. 15

BOOK TRAILER is here for my new book!

Here is a youtube video promo for the book.

 MALCOM DEVLIN book trailer

Amazon and Goodreads Book Giveaways!

Enter to win a free copy of my new book!
Amazon Kindlebook Giveaway
and
Goodreads Book Giveaway

MY NEW BOOK is HERE!

Malcolm Devlin and the Shadow of a Hero 

on sale NOW!

COMING SOON...

COMING SOON...

Write a Screenplay!

In addition to writing books, I write screenplays. 

I will be teaching a screenwriting seminar on Saturday November 8th, 10am-noon at Cuyahoga Community College's Westshore Campus in Westlake, Ohio.  If you're in the Cleveland area, join us and learn how to write a screenplay!

Benjamin Middle School skype for Rebecca Caudill Club

I had a great time skyping last Friday, Feb. 15th with students at Benjamin Middle School in West Chicago, IL.

Thanks to all the great questions, the time just flew by.

2012 Northeast Ohio SCBWI Conference

I had a blast at the SCBWI conference.  I met so many nice people and talented writers, each with a story to tell.

using my "Italian" sign language during a critique

2012 Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference

I'm very excited to say that this Friday and Saturday, September 21-22, I will be speaking at the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference.

I will be giving a children's writing workshop called "Writing Books Kids Can't Put Down: Plotting and Structuring the Children's Novel."  Can't wait to meet all my fellow writers.

In honor of Ray Bradbury: Write your favorite teacher a letter.

I was away camping for the last 4 days so I had missed the news and just heard about the passing of one of my heroes, Ray Bradbury.  


But the way I heard about Mr. Bradbury's death was via a wonderful, unexpected email letter which I thought I would share:

Mr. Ferrari,

You taught my English class in the 6th grade at St. Robert Bellarmine Elementary School in Burbank, CA some 15 years ago. That year I was introduced to three inspiring figures that I still have very much respect for today. 
The first, strangely, is Conan O'brien. The first time I saw Conan host Late Night on NBC I thought he was the funniest person on the planet, and I still think so today. What I really got a kick out of was the fact that he looked so much like my American Literature teacher at the time. I must admit I only started watching because of his physical resemblance to you. After that, I always associated you with that comedic hero of mine (who by the way, had graduated Harvard and carries much integrity as a public figure, so I promise, this is a compliment to you).
The second figure is Ray Bradbury. That year you had us read "Fahrenheit 451". I approached it with the same laziness and indifference as I did with all other assigned reading. All I wanted to do was read R.L. Stine novels and watch television at home. I didn't care for another dated novel I would be made to dissect.During the reading assignment, you mentioned in class that Ray Bradbury would be speaking at the Festival of Books at UCLA and we could have the opportunity of hearing him speak if we wanted. Needless to say, the idea didn't sound extremely exciting to a group of eleven year olds. That is, until I continued reading.
His novel sparked much interest inside of me, and I was drawn to his metaphor for the love of books and the fear of modern technology as an authority. Curiosity arose. The next thing I know, my Dad is picking me up on a Friday from my mom's house to spend the weekend with him, and I'm asking him if we can go to a festival of books on a Saturday to meet my new favorite author. You can imagine his surprise, and his willingness to acquiesce immediately!
He took me the next day to hear Bradbury lecture inside of Royce Hall, which was truly entertaining, and then we stood in a very long line waiting to get his autograph.
Thus began a long obsession with Bradbury's work, and with it a collection of novels that I just had to get autographed, leading into numerous more lectures and meet and greets in the years to come. His book "Zen in the Art of Writing" is what made me want to become a writer. Although this dream never fully matured, it developed my passion for the creative arts and the beauty of expressing one's self.
This brings us to our third figure. On this day of Bradbury's passing I am inspired to do something I wanted to do long ago, which is to thank you. You reached somebody with enough virtue to last a lifetime. Your love of literature and your enthusiasm to teach moved me in a way that I can never forget, and for that I will always be grateful. 
I wonder how things would be different now if you didn't make the additional effort then to develop us to become more than just students. Not just readers but thinkers, lovers of books. Essentially, what the protagonist, Guy Montag, becomes in "Fahrenheit 451." To allude to a Bradbury term, a "Butterfly effect" would undoubtedly prove that I would be less content today as a result.
So thank you, Mr. Ferrari, for teaching me. I promise you that your words professed in that classroom stuck with me for much longer than the end of that semester. You've inspired me for a lifetime.
P.S. I don't have any kids, yet. But when I do, you can bet that I will be reading "Born to Fly" with them, and sharing some of the greatest experiences I can ever hope to have.

Andres Ocon

Isn't that a letter every teacher would love to get? I think Mr. Bradbury would have liked it, too.   

As the book people show in Fahrenheit 451, good stories and storytellers never really die.









Ray Bradbury, age 3.

BORN TO FLY nominated for Connecticut Nutmeg Book Award

Born to Fly was one of 10 middle grade books recently nominated for Connecticut's state book award, the Nutmeg Award

The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 4-8 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. Jointly sponsored by theConnecticut Library Association (CLA) and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL), the Nutmeg Committee is comprised of children's librarians and school library media specialists who are members of our sponsoring organizations.

BORN TO FLY nominated for Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Award

Had some exciting news yesterday that "Born to Fly" is among the 20 books on the Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award shortlist for 2013.

It's an annual award given to a book voted most outstanding by students in grades 4-8 in participating Illinois schools.

Here's a list of all 20 nominated books.

Book trailer for BORN TO FLY

A student at an international school in Japan created this cool book trailer for BORN TO FLY.

Check it out.

Born to fly Book Trailer from Labrarian Laleman on Vimeo.

She also did a video book review on this page.

Born to fly Student Review from Labrarian Laleman on Vimeo.

Born to Fly is one of the books nominated for the Sakura Medal, a book award started by a network of international schools across Japan. Books in a number of different categories (chapter books, YA, picture books, etc.) are nominated by librarians and then the winners are chosen by student readers.

New BORN TO FLY Review on Next Best Book

There's a nice review of BORN TO FLY on The Next Best Book blog