The Swimmer Manuscript, Grand Prize Winner Int'l Screenwriters Assoc Exposurama Screenplay Contest

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 08, 2009 – Scottsdale, Ariz. – Joseph Kenny’s Epic Fantasy Screenplay The Swimmer Manuscript was named Grand Prize Winner of the International Screenwriters Association’s Exposurama Screenplay Contest, committed to finding standout screenplays each season and giving them the exposure they deserve.

The Swimmer Manuscript is the recipient of 43 awards, nominations, accolades, and official selections at U.S. and international film festivals and screenwriting competitions.

Set against the spectacular backdrop of The Great Smoky Mountains, in Tennessee and North Carolina, The Swimmer Manuscript is a coming of age story based on the legends of the region and the sacred myths of the Cherokee. It pits a young, untested conjurer named Swimmer against the Widderman and a cadre of Raven Mocker witches, as Swimmer seeks to avenge the death of his father and learns to utilize the powers he has inherited.  

This original story, written in an epic fantasy genre and style reminiscent of such classics as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Golden Compass, was created after ethnographic research that included personal visits and study with a noted Cherokee Medicine Man who lived in Old Fort North Carolina, and an extensive review of the folklore of the Smoky Mountains and of numerous journals and materials contained in the Bureau of American Ethnology archives of the Smithsonian.

About the Author:

Joseph Kenny is a professional writer who helps individuals and businesses enhance their written communications and tell their unique and powerful stories. Kenny was the Outstanding Graduate of the College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University and a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing (MPW) program at the University of Southern California.  He has studied with luminaries and mentors including, Academy Award-Winner Robert Pirosh (Battleground), Jerome Lawrence (Inherit the Wind), James Ragan (Lusions), Paul Gillette (Play Misty For Me), Shelley Berman (Up In The Air), John Rechy (City of Night), and in workshops, masters classes, and seminars with Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Edward Albee (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Peter Stone (1776, Father Goose), and others.

Kenny is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Authors League of America. He served as a writer and producer on The Exceptional Child television series (PBS), and as the writer of Pete Rose’s Reach For The Sky (Appledown Entertainment). His stage play, In August The Jewelweed Cried, was produced as part of Jerome Lawrence’s Octet play series. And, his play Out of the Shadows was produced in Los Angeles. His screenplay, The Swimmer Manuscript (also known as The Conjur' Man), received recognition from the New Century Writer Awards, The Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project, and the Writers Guild of America East Foundation Fellowship Awards, and a total of 43 awards, nominations and accolades at festivals and screenwriting competitions. Kenny has worked as a consultant and marketing professional with leading Hollywood talent and film production entities, and served as the director of the 1986 Scottsdale Film Festival, produced in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Film Institute. Joseph Kenny is currently developing stories for film and television, and writing books.