Mark Steensland

Mark Steensland self-published his first book while in fourth grade and has been telling stories ever since—some of them true. He became a professional journalist before graduating high school, writing about movies for such magazines as Prevue, Millimeter, and American Cinematographer. He holds a bachelor's in film studies from UC Santa Barbara, a master's in creative writing from CSU Sacramento, and an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman University. His award-winning films (including Peekers and The Ugly File) have played in festivals around the world. His first novel—Behind the Bookcase—was published in 2012 by Random House. A movie based on The Special, a novella co-written with James Newman, was released in October 2020. He most recently wrote Jakob's Wife, starring Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, and Bonnie Aarons.