About Us
DARA – BIO
Dara Marks, Ph.D. is a leading international story consultant, seminar leader, and author of the bestseller Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc. This groundbreaking work on authentic storytelling has inspired screenwriters, novelists, and playwrights around the world to engage more deeply and effectively in the creative writing process.As an educator, Dara is committed to the idea that a culture speaks through its stories and that every writer’s voice matters. Her unique method of analysis has earned her top ratings by Creative Screenwriting Magazine as the best story consultant in the business – with her advice sought-after by major Hollywood studios, independent filmmakers and television writers, producers, and directors.
Dara holds a doctorate degree in Mythological Studies and is working on a new book on the Feminine Heroic. Currently, she lives in Ojai, California with her husband where she especially enjoys spending time with her two amazing granddaughters.
DEB NORTON – BIO
Deb Norton is a writing coach and author whose book Part Wild: A Writers Guide to Harnessing the Creative Power of Resistance was lauded by HuffPost as “a must read for any aspiring or seasoned writer.” Deb champions our natural desire to create with powerful story making tools that tame self-doubt and inspire writers to trust the genius of their own unique voice. Her dynamic workshops, intimate writing groups and immersive retreats are in demand world-wide.Deb is a graduate of The American Conservatory Theater and has worked as a dramaturg for STAGE at the University of Chicago, developing multi-media theater pieces inspired by science and technology. Her play The Whole Banana was reviewed by the LA Times as an “hysterical post-feminist lark.” It’s a theme that influences her current work-in-progress – an epic si-fi fantasy novel featuring a menopausal superhero. Deb lives on a wildflower farm on Washington state’s Upper Peninsula with her husband, Chris, where she finds inspiration and renewal in the wonder of the natural world.