Joel Mark Harris
Joel Mark Harris is an award-winning British-Canadian journalist, novelist, screenwriter and producer. Born in Vancouver, he graduated from Langara Journalism School in 2007 and worked for the Squamish Chief newspaper before freelancing. At Langara, Joel got the idea to write a series of books about a journalist, the first of which is called A Thousand Bayonets. In the novel, a former war correspondent named John Webster maneuvers through the seedy underworld of Vancouver, trying to bring a vicious drug lord to justice. A Thousand Bayonets won an Editor’s Choice Award from Author Solutions.
In 2008, Joel went to British Columbia Institute of Technology for a public relations degree. After doing various jobs in the PR field, Joel wrote and produced Neutral Territory, a film about Henry Huge, who must return to his crazy Swiss family after falling into money troubles. Neutral Territory was nominated for a Maverick Award for Best Cinematography and Best Picture at the Beloit Film Festival. It won best feature film at the Interrobang Film Festival. It is also an official selection of the Beijing International Film Festival and the New York International Film Festival. Joel was nominated for best screenplay for Neutral Territory in the World Music & Independent Film Festival
Joel is currently writing a screenplay called Shots, a coming-of-age story about Carter, a teenager, who gets his first job at a coffee shop. He is also working on a sequel to his novel called Shame the Devil.
“It's that old, old fear thing again. Why does it creep along with us, attached to us like our shadow? Why can't it just leave us alone? Why can't we tell each other what we think and what we feel?”