Hilary Weisman Graham is a screenwriter, novelist, and director whose work spans nearly two decades. Her debut young adult novel,Reunited(Simon & Schuster), is due out in June, 2012.
Hilary’s essays have appeared inThe Sun,Utne Reader, andImagine Magazine.An Emmy-nominated television producer, her broadcast credits include WMUR'sChronicle, the nationally syndicated television showWild Web(CBS/Eyemark), as well as freelance work for The Discovery Health Channel,Access Hollywood, A&E’sBiography, and PBS'sZoom.
Having started her career as an indie filmmaker, Hilary’s two features films (Life’s Too GoodandI Love My Movie) have garnered numerous awards and played in art-houses and film festivals around the world.And in 1999, despite colorful language and brief nudity,I Love My Movieaired on public television (Go PBS!).
But among Hilary’s many film-related honors, her personal favorite came in 2007 when Carrie Fisher, (best-selling author/screenwriter/Princess Leia) watched one of Hilary’s short films, looked her in the eye, and said, “I am jealous of your writing.”
In the summer of 2007, Hilary was selected as a contestant on the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced reality seriesOn the Lot: The Search for America’s Next Great Director. Out of a pool of 12,000 submissions, Hilary made it onto the show as one of the eighteen finalists and stayed in the competition until only nine contestants remained, making her the longest-standing female director. Twice during the show, Garry Marshall (Director,Pretty Woman, Georgia Rule)picked Hilary’s films as his favorites of the night.
Hilary’s original screenplays have been optioned by Inferno Entertainment (The Women, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale) and Robert Lawrence Productions (Rock Star,The Last Castle). In 2008,her screenplayFreebirdtook grand prize in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contestandthe Silver Screenwriting Competition. In2009,Hilary wasa finalist in the Disney Feature Writing Fellowship. She is also a recipient of a 2009 Artist Fellowship from the NH Arts Council.
Hilary lives with her husband and son in a restored 1830’s barn in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, roughly thirty minutes away from the nearest grocery store.
