Accomplished Screenwriter, Hal Ackerman, to Speak at UT Oct. 25, 26

Hal Ackerman, a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, author and co-chair emeritus of the UCLA Screenwriting Program, will speak at The University of Tampa on Thursday, Oct. 25, and Friday, Oct. 26. Both events will be held on the 11th floor of Jenkins Hall on campus, and both are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. Ackerman will present a lecture entitled “Story Is Everything: How To Make Your Story Sing.”

On Friday, Oct. 26, at 10 a.m. Ackerman will conduct a screenwriting workshop entitled “Writing Scenes Better Than You Have Ever Written Before.”

Ackerman has sold original and for-hire material to all the major studios and TV networks. His students have had countless screenplays purchased and produced, and are contracted writers and creators of dozens of current television shows, including Better Call Saul, Pose, Insecure, Sorry For Your Loss, and the films Venom and My Dinner with Herve.

Ackerman has had numerous short stories published in literary journals, among them The North Dakota Review, New Millennium Writing, The Pinch, Southeast Review and the 2016 Fiction International edition of the Idaho Review. He has published two murder mysteries, and his one-man play, PRICK: How Prostate Cancer Made A Man of Me, was named Best Play at the New York Solo Festival.

The 15th anniversary edition of his book, Write Screenplays That Sell...The Ackerman Way, was published in September 2017.

The events are presented by UT’s Department of Film, Animation and New Media, and are generously supported by Film Tampa Bay.

For more information, contact Gregg Perkins, chair and associate professor of film, animation and new media, at gperkins@ut.edu or (813) 257-3427.