Semifinalist, 45 Forward Screenwriting Fellowship (2026)
BIO
Raised in the Great Basin and Sonoran deserts, Maren had to travel the world to learn to love her desert roots. She draws on her experiences at home and abroad to tell stories about how people transform despair into purpose. Her scripts have won awards from The Golden Script Competition, Screencraft, the Cordillera Film Festival, and Willamette Writers and been selected for the Athena Lab, Cinestory Restreat, and the Stowe Narrative Lab as well as residencies at Hedgebrook and Storyknife. Her first produced short, The Legend of Stella, was directed by Aileen Sheedy and nominated for best comedy at its Oregon Short Film Festival premiere in February 2020. It won Best Gamer Film at Toronto Geekfest (2020) and Best Pop Culture Film at the Pensacon Short Film Festival (2021).