the news

Even More Contest Results

First off, I'm happy to say that Shadow Puppets (under the earlier title The Trogs) has proceeded to the semi-finals of the NexTv Writing and Pitch Competition. We're hopeful that we'll continue to advance in this competition.

But that's not all — we've also been named finalists in this year's Slamdance Screenplay Competiton. It's a tremendous honor — only 40 teleplay scripts made it this far, and with nearly 2,000 submissions in this year's competition, that's no small feat.

Although Tim and I knew from the beginning that we had something special in Shadow Puppets, it's always a pleasant shock to realize that other people think so too. We've been getting so much great coverage and exciting news from all of these competitions that it's gotten hard for us to keep up with it all!

NexTv Quarter-Finals!

I'm delighted to announce that Shadow Puppets (under the earlier title The Trogs) has just been selected as a quarter-finalist in the NexTv Writing and Pitch Competition! This is our second big result in just three months, after we finished as finalists in the WILDSound TV Screenplay Festival last April. The NexTv competition received nearly 700 submissions, and it really is exciting to know that Shadow Puppets was considered one of the best pieces of writing out there.

Semi-finalists will be announced in a few more weeks. We'll keep you posted!

New Title, New Web Page

When Tim and I first wrote this story, we gave it the working title of The Trogs, after the organization that is the show's focus. As time went on, our working title gradually became our real title. We got used to getting somewhat bemused stares from people at parties when we told them what our teleplay was called, and we got used to explaining where the name came from. But eventually we realized that a good title shouldn't have to be explained every time.

And so, after quite a lot of deliberation, we decided on a new title: Shadow Puppets. We think it reflects the clandestine nature of the Trogs, while at the same time emphasizing the fact that these characters are moved by forces beyond their control.

We are also thrilled to unveil our new website to accompany the new title. Please address any comments on the website to martin@shadowpuppets.tv. Special thanks to Valeriana Solaris, Steve Zuppo, and Wikimedia Commons user Przykuta, all of whom were good enough to provide the photos used on this site under a Creative Commons license, and very special thanks to my friend KL, who granted me special permission to adapt and use her spectacular photo for the main page.