Semifinalist, 2026 Roadmap Writers' Shorts Competition
BIO
Amy Amani is a British-American writer based in Oxford, England, where she lives with her husband and cat. Having lived extensively around the world, including in six countries outside the United States and eight U.S. states, her global experiences inform her storytelling, with Florence, Italy, and Cornwall, UK ranking among her favorite places.
Amy studied theater at Northwestern University, where she developed her foundation in performance before transitioning into writing in 2008. This shift came after life circumstances led her to step away from acting and directing, prompting her to pursue a new creative outlet. Early in her writing career, she collaborated on the pilot Crossing the Divide, a character-driven story set in a mountain town, which was optioned within six months of completion. She has since co-written the feature A Trick of the Light (also optioned) and Dazzleland, currently being shopped with producers attached, as well as several short projects.
Independently, Amy created an educational animated series centered on an adventurous abakus, which was produced, and adapted the award-winning children's novel Fintan Fedora the World's Worst Explorer. Her fantasy teen sitcom, When in Rome, inspired by her time at an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Italy, won Best Teleplay at the Oaxaca Film Festival.
In addition to her film and television work, Amy has collaborated with environmental researchers at the University of Oxford to create immersive, murder mystery-style educational experiences focused on climate change and adaptation, later developing a second bespoke project for another department within the university.
Her current slate includes the feature comedy Dominant Jean, about a group of single mothers who become dominatrices, and an early-stage historical comedy set during the War of the Roses. Across genres, Amy's work is characterized by its irreverent tone and frequent incorporation of fantasy, supernatural, or magical elements, with a consistent emphasis on escapism rather than bleak storytelling.