“I was a writer before I knew what a writer was.” -Joseph Dougherty

Joseph Dougherty has been a successful playwright and television writer, producer, and director for more than thirty years.  He’s written for breakthrough series that have changed the way we look at television drama, from thirtysomething to Pretty Little Liars, winning everything from Emmys to Teen Choice Awards along the way.

In A Screenwriter’s Companion, Dougherty offers insights and advice both practical and nonpractical to writers and would-be writers.

Dougherty’s voice comes off the page with anecdotes about the writing process, hard-learned tips for survival in “the business,” and reflections on the influences that head led him to a successful career.  Honestly, entertainingly, without cynicism, he gives readers permission to embrace the writer they want to be, so they can experience the rewards and satisfactions of writing.

Beyond an insider’s take on story and structure, dialogue, action and outlining, A Screenwriter’s Companion is as much mentor as it is manual.  With every insider observation about how to keep a potential producer reading till the last page of a script, there’s encouragement to explore your thoughts and memories, things a writer needs to embrace in order to become more than “a pro.”  In short, to see writing not as merely a career, but as a way to greater self-understanding.

Ordering the book from FMP gets you a SIGNED copy from Jospeh Dougherty.

This book will be released November 8, 2022.

“A World of Demons: The Villains of Doctor Who”

“One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel”—Jean-Antoninette (“Reinette”) Poisson, aka Madame de Pompadour, “The Girl in the Fireplace”

What a world of demons Doctor Who has presented us with over the past seven decades: from Daleks and Cybermen to Weeping Angels and the Silence, the greatest villains of the Who-niverse have achieved an iconic status all their own, cementing themselves in the minds of millions of viewers (why else would Parker Brothers have devised a version of Monopoly after them?). If, as the Seventh Doctor once said, “You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies,” the Doctor is great indeed, rescuing the universe time and again from some of the most formidable and terrifying villains in science fiction history. Now, for the first time, an entire anthology of essays is dedicated to deconstructing this gallery of blackguards. Who are the greatest Who villains of all time? Why are they so frightening? And—apologies to Shakespeare—what do they tell us about the villainy of our own fears?

Featuring essays by Joseph Dougherty (executive producer, Pretty Little Liars; producer, thirtysomething), Steven Ashby, Anton Binder, Sarah Corey, Ken Deep, Jan Fennick, Hannah Friedman, Mark Givens, Nancy Hutchins, Jennie Jarvis, Don Klees, Chris Kocher, Robin Koman, Charles Martin, Michael Robinson, Steve Sautter, and Shane Thomas.

 

Edited by David Bushman (Conversations with Mark Frost) and Barnaby Edwards (president, Doctor Who New York)

This book will be released in September 20, 2022.

In the annals of MLB history, the 1985 World Series is remembered almost solely for “The Call.” In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6, umpire Don Denkinger errantly ruled Kansas City Royals pinch hitter Jorge Orta’s groundout a hit, leading to a rally that enabled Kansas City to win the game and later defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7. In Interstate ’85: Whitey’s Cardinals, Howser’s Royals, The Call, and the Battle for the Heart of Missouri Baseball, author Marshall Garvey shows the 1985 series was so much more than just “The Call.” The seven-game battle between Kansas City and St. Louis served as the culmination of a decade of direct and indirect cross-pollination between Missouri’s esteemed franchises, as if they were beckoning to each other for a meeting in October one day. It’s rife with human stories, including Royals shortstop Buddy Biancalana’s ascension from David Letterman punchline to postseason hero, reliever Steve Farr saving Kansas City’s season after nearly being out of baseball, and St. Louis outfielder Tito Landrum completing his arc from mall security guard to clutch World Series hitter. The book also examines the white-knuckle divisional races the teams survived to make the playoffs, with the Royals rallying to surpass the Angels, and the Cardinals outlasting Keith Hernandez and the hated Mets, and their heart-stopping league championship battles, as the Cardinals slayed the Dodgers with dramatic home runs and the Royals gritted out a comeback from being down 3-1 against the Blue Jays. Also explored is the provincial spectacle of the “Interstate 70 Series,” during which the state of Missouri came alive during a week when it was the baseball capital of the world. Drawing upon new interviews with players like George Brett, Mark Gubicza, Jim Sundberg, Buddy Biancalana, and Charlie Leibrandt, as well as Don Denkinger himself, Interstate ’85 takes an oft-overlooked Fall Classic and recasts it as a vivid turning point in baseball history — one in which two powerhouse franchises produced a series that embodied baseball at its purest, most exhilarating, and most controversial.