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FINDING YOUR STORY
Finding Your Story brings together storytellers from page to screen to explore how powerful narratives take shape. Author Jess Hageman and filmmaker Luke Garza will dive into the process of discovering your voice, shaping ideas into compelling stories, and even exploring how written works can be adapted for film. Whether you’re writing your first novel, developing a screenplay, or seeking inspiration across mediums, this session will help you uncover the story only you can tell.
JESS HAGEMANN
Author - Head Cheese, Mother Eating
Jess Hagemann’s recent work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beneath the Bluebonnets: Tales of Terror from Texas Women, Three Seasons of Winter, and Last Girls Club, among others. Her debut novel Headcheese (2018) won an IPPY Award in Horror.
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Her sophomore novel Mother-Eating (2025) marries Marie Antoinette and cults. Jess received her MFA from the Jack Kerouac School, and has been awarded a teaching fellowship at McNeese State University as well as a writing residency at Dear Butte. She lives in Austin.
More at www.jesshagemann.com.
Author photo credit: Alicia Leigh Photography
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About Mother-Eating:
A modern retelling of Marie Antoinette’s reign as the queen of France, set in present-day Austin. Instead of marrying her daughter off to King Louis, Resa Habsburg sells Mary Toni to a pseudo-religious torture-happy sex cult in exchange for a TV contract.
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Publisher: Ghoulish Books
Cover art credit: James Hutton Illustration
Cover text design credit: Zach Chapman
Producer, Director, Writer, Script Coach
LUKE GARZA
A film school brat, Luke holds degrees from both the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California. He worked as a story analyst at HBO, Phoenix Pictures, and Rat Entertainment, and parlayed his development experience into a producing gig on a Fox show. Luke currently teaches screenwriting at Austin Community College, but continues to produce, with two independent features streaming on Amazon Prime and other platforms, as well as three award-winning short films that he either wrote, co-directed, or produced.
Luke is also co-director of Austin International Film Festival, a judge for other film festivals, and the Director of Development for Inner Sanctum Films.
