Award Nominated Journalist, Novelist & Screenwriter Joel Mark Harris

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Spotlight Interview

ARTS A La CARTE - Tell us about yourself and how you got involved with writing?

Joel Harris - I was born in Vancouver Canada. I'm an award-winning journalist, producer, novelist and filmmaker. I graduated with a degree in journalism from Langara College which is theoldest journalism school in Western Canada. I worked briefly as a journalist, did some PR work before working in film. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to be a writer. In fact, when I was a kid, I had a difficult time learning how to read, but I think my difficulty in learning only made me want to learn how to write even more. When I was in grade three, my teacher encouraged the class to write a novel. I remember I wrote four novels that year.

ARTS A La CARTE - How did you get involved with the film "Neutral Territory” Tell us about your experience? Did you face any challenges?

Joel Harris - Well, I actually met director and producer Josias Tschanz playing soccer. He knew I was a writer although at the time I had only written a few short stories. He told mehe wanted to shoot this movie partially based on his life and he wanted me to write it. He put incredible faith in me as a story teller, even though I had very little experience with film and writing movie scripts. We faced challenges almost from the very start. Writing was actually the easy part! Trying to find funding for the movie was incredible hard. The shoot was only 14 days and we had very long days, but luckily the crew was fantastic. It took awhile for us to be accepted into different film festivals, but then all of a sudden the movie took off. Neutral Territory has played in festivals across the world including, Buffalo, Chicago, New York, Washington, Lucurne, and Beijing.



ARTS A La CARTE - Tell us about your trip to DC and NY this past summer? Did you go anywhere afterwards? What was your most memorable moment?

Joel Harris - Going to New York and DC was a fantastic experience! I had forgotten how much I love both cities and it was great to be able to visit them again. It's difficult to pick the most memorable moment, but I would have to say watching Neutral Territory in Times Square would be one and accepting the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress would be another.



ARTS A La CARTE - Will you be writing any other screen plays in the near future? If so, can you tell us about it?

Joel Harris - The next screen play I'm working on is called WITCHES OF WHITEWATER and it's about two college students who go to a small university town. The town is supposedly haunted by these witches but of course the student’s don't believe in any of the urban legends but when strange things start occurring,including the death of a close friend they begin to suspect the witches may be more than just ghost stories. I`m also writing a sequel to A THOUSAND BAYONETS called SHAME THE DEVIL and it`s about John Webster who tries to solve a financial scandal that involves some of the most powerful people in the country who are willing to do anything to keep their crimes secret.

ARTS A La CARTE - Congratulations to your recent published book "A Thousand Byonets". Please tell us about it and how people can get a copy. How long did ittake you to write? What are the next steps for this book?

Joel Harris - It took me four years to write the book from the first draft up to publication. It was a very different story at the beginning with a lot of different characters but the main character,John Webster, was pretty much the same war-worn, hard-boiled journalist. He just had to face different bad guys and different situations. A THOUSAND BAYONETS is in some Vancouver bookstores but you can also get it on www.joelmarkharris.com or atAmazon.com. The next stop for my book tour is Miami where I will be at one of the biggest Book fairs in the world! I am very excited as I have never been to Florida before! After that I am celebrating with a Book Launch Party right here in Vancouver.



ARTS A La CARTE - Tell us about your career in journalism. How has it affected your life?

Joel Harris - I can only say it changed everything in my life. Before I went to Journalism School I never really thought about how important free press is to democracy and to our way of life. I became fascinated with newspapers and I would love to get back into it someday, but for now I`m very busy with my films and novels.

ARTS A La CARTE – If someone to tell you that they wanted to start writing books or getinto journalism, what words of wisdom would you give to them? What challenges might they face?

Joel Harris - My only words of wisdom is to work hard, stay focusedand don`t give up.

ARTS A La CARTE - Who are your mentors? If you have not met them and you had a day to spend with them, what would you ask and how would that day pan out?

Joel Harris - If you have met them, what have they taught you and in what way would you pass this on if you were to become someone's mentor one day?

I suppose I have a bit of a funny mentor: I`ve always admired the writer Michael Crichton. I love not only how he told a story, but he made the reader think, usually about the pitfalls of technology or issues in society. I especially loved his non-fiction work and his book Travels. I was really sad when he died in 2008. I would have loved to have picked his brain. He was so intelligent and smart. I bet I could have talked to him for hours and hours about any subject.

ARTS A La CARTE - Where do you see yourself in 3 years? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Joel Harris - Hopefully I will be lucky enough to keep doing what I`m doing, creating stories, whether it is novels, movies, whatever.

ARTS A La CARTE -Do you have a website or where can people find more information about you and your writing?

Joel Harris - You can find out more about me at www.joelmarkharris.com or look me up on Facebook!

ARTS A La CARTE - Do you have any last words for the viewers?

Joel Harris - Thanks for having me Laura! I hope you all enjoy my novel. Please pick yourself up a copy! And don`t forget to keep dreaming and following those dreams!