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Chris Millis

Chair, writing

Education

  • M.F.A., creative writing, Goddard College
  • B.A., art, State University of New York Buffalo State College

Credentials

  • Chair/professor, writing, 2017-present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
    ​Leads a School of Liberal Arts department. Performs all administrative, leadership, committee, advising, and service duties of a department chair for a program that offers B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in writing with minors in writing, creative writing, and fashion journalism. Editor of department M.F.A. literary journal Document. Contributing editor to the undergraduate literary journal Artemis. Member of SCAD Student Media advisory board and SCAD Alumni Atelier advisory board.
  • Faculty, Creative Writing Program, 2015-2016
    Co-director, Creative Writing Program, Summer 2016
    Distinguished visiting professor and writer in residence, 2015-2016, Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV
    ​Taught classes and led workshops. Advised and mentored students on their graduate work and thesis manuscripts.
  • Visiting writer in screenwriting, Spring 2015, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY
    ​Taught a graduate course in film and television writing, from concept through pre-production. Gave a public lecture and screened Small Apartments with a Q&A. Served as graduate thesis committee member, mentored in the campus writing center, and judged student literary and short film competitions.
  • Co-creator/keynote speaker, June 2014, Writing for Success: Writers Seminar, Saratoga Springs, NY
    Partnered to organize and present a full-day instructional seminar to over 50 attendees in the fundamentals of story structure, traditional and indie publishing, and marketing.
  • Founding faculty mentor, 2013-present, Stowe Story Labs, Stowe, VT, virtual, and Palm Springs, CA
    ​Film and television writing and producing seminar included work with mentors like David Magee, Oscar-nominated screenwriter; Ellen Parks, casting director of Oscar winner "Sideways"; and Alex Boden, producer of "Cloud Atlas" and "Sense 8."

Awards, recognitions, and honors

  • Represented by Verve Talent and Literary Agency, and Anonymous Content, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • National bestseller, "Here's the Situation," 2010
  • Winner, 23rd Annual International 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, "Small Apartments," 2001

Organizations

  • Member, Advisory Board, Lake Tahoe Film Festival
  • Member, Association of Writers and Writing Programs
  • Member, Adirondack Center for Writing
  • Co-founder/editorial board member, The Vermont Press, 2010–present
  • Member, Saratoga County Arts Council; Saratoga Film Forum, 2001–present

Publications and presentations

Feature film and television writer

  • Screenwriter/executive producer, Small Apartments, distributed by Sony Pictures

    • Feature film adaptation of debut novel
    • World premiere, SXSW Film Festival, Austin, TX, 2012; theatrical premiere, Spring 2013
    • Directed by Jonas Åkerlund with actors Billy Crystal, James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Rebel Wilson, Amanda Plummer, Rosie Perez, and more
  • Story editor, Clark, 2021

    • Limited Netflix series starring Bill Skarsgård
  • Screenwriter/executive producer, God & California, 2021

    • Feature film adaptation of second novel
  • Screenwriter/co-producer, Mega Takedown: The Truthy Adventures of Kim Dotcom, financing stage
  • Screenwriter/executive producer, Tackling Larry Csonka, optioned material
  • Co-creator/executive producer/head writer, The 5-Second Rule, in development with Netflix animation
  • Screenwriter, Suddenly Rich, TLC Network

Fiction and nonfiction writer

  • God & California, novel, The Vermont Press, 2014
  • Here's the Situation, coauthor and illustrator, with Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Penguin, 2010
  • The Making of a Stand-Up Guy, coauthor with Charlie Murphy, Simon & Schuster, 2009
  • Small Apartments, novel, Anvil Press, 2001
  • Personal and celebrity-partnered work featured in selected media: NBC's "Today," "The View," "The Tonight Show," "Late Show with David Letterman," "Real Time with Bill Maher," "Saturday Night Live," NPR, "Entertainment Weekly," "Variety," "The Hollywood Reporter," "Los Angeles Times," "The Wall Street Journal," "Washington Post," and all wire services

Additional published work

  • "Black Velvet Art Party: Lake George's Plushest Event," Adirondack Life, Nov./Dec. issue, 2014.
  • Cartoonist/gag writer, "Close to Home," with John McPherson, syndicated single-panel comic feature, Universal Press Syndicate, Kansas City, MO to more than 700 publications worldwide, 1995–present
  • Freelance drawing in books, magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, toys, online, 1993–present
  • Illustrator, An American Bestiary, with Eugene J. McCarthy, Lone Oak Press, 2001
  • Illustrator, A Clam Named Sam, with Lee DeVitt, Lone Oak Press, 2001.
  • Joke writer with headlining and featured comedians.

Selected lectures, readings, screenings, festivals, and artist residencies

  • Host and moderator, WordCast Journalism Conference, SCAD, Savannah, Ga., 2017–present.
  • Featured reader, Seersucker Live!, Savannah, Ga., 2017–present.
  • "The Sage of Saratoga: The Life and Writing of Frank Sullivan," presented at Saratoga Springs Public Library, Jan. 2017.
  • Host and moderator for celebrity and filmmaker Q&As, Lake Tahoe Film Festival, 2016–present.
  • Honored guest, Timothy Dwight Master's Tea, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., Feb. 2016.
  • "Small Apartments" screening and Q&A, Yale Film Society, New Haven, Conn., Feb. 2016.
  • Commencement poet, 46th Annual Sierra Nevada College Commencement Ceremony, Incline Village, Nev., May 2016.
  • Writer in residence, Writer's Room at the Betsy, The Betsy South Beach, Miami, 2016.
  • Presenter, 2013 AWP Conference, Boston, 2013.