Jude Brewer is an American writer, producer, actor, and podcast host, best known for creating and hosting ''

Storybound ''Storybound'' is a podcast created, produced, and hosted by Jude Brewer, with original music composed for each episode. The show is a collaboration between ''Lit Hub'' and The Podglomerate podcast network, featuring household names and Pulitz ...

'' and '' Storytellers Telling Stories''. Brewer's writing has appeared internationally through

literary magazines A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and lett ...

, and most recently in podcasts and

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

Career

Writing & Film

Tania Hershman, author, and judge of the 2017 UK Retreat West Flash Fiction Prize, has described Brewer's writing as " akingrisks in its structure, going off on tangents, not following a linear narrative, and the risks pay off. It is dark and funny and moving and strange. There is not a word too many or too few, and every word is precisely chosen, the character’s voice never strays… I could read this again and again and again." Two of Brewer's short

literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...

pieces were adapted for his podcast '' Storytellers Telling Stories'' with Brewer narrating. Season 4 of ''Storybound'' brought Brewer's voice acting to the forefront for multiple character voices across several episodes. During a 2021 Film Invasion Los Angeles (FILA) Q&A session with Brewer and director Jake Whiston for their film ''Your Heart Is Mine'', FILA programmer Jeff Howard said, "As the lead, Brewer carried this film beautifully". Brewer won "Best Actor" at the Oregon Scream Week Horror

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending up ...

, while ''Your Heart Is Mine'' won "Best Dark Drama Film" and received the Programmer's Prize at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival, as well as making Official Selection for the

Seattle True Independent Film Festival Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) was started in 2005 by a group of filmmakers whose feature film Swamper was rejected by the Seattle International Film Festival. STIFF was modeled after the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City UT as ...

, the Oregon Short Film Festival, the

Short Sweet Film Fest The Short Sweet Film Fest is an annual short film festival held in Cleveland, Ohio. Background The festival was found by Mike Suglio in 2012, and approximately 100 films are showcased each year. The first festival was held at Market Garden Bre ...

, and the Austin After Dark Film Festival.

Podcasting & Interviewing

Around early 2017, Brewer launched ''John Plays the Piano'', a roundtable film discussion podcast, breaking down and analyzing classic films such as ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'', ''

Being John Malkovich ''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a ...

'', and ''

Small Soldiers ''Small Soldiers'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Joe Dante and written by Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio. It stars Kirsten Dunst and Gregory Smith, along with the voices of Frank Langella and To ...

''. Eight episodes were released. Brewer has said ''John Plays the Piano'' is on an "indefinite hiatus". In October 2017, Brewer launched the '' Storytellers Telling Stories'' podcast as a means to take a break from writing, craving something "more experimental and a little less predictable", toying with different instruments while warping and distorting their sounds. The show has been described as an

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

"pushing the evolution" of podcasting. The initial concept was to simulate a movie within the listener's mind, to create a sense of total immersion without requiring any visuals. ''

Lights Out Lights Out may refer to: Events and times * Institutional, and thence colloquial, term for bedtime *Lights Out (event), an event in the UK on 4 August 2014 to commemorate the start of World War I * Lights Out Hong Kong, a campaign to protest air ...

'' has been cited as an influence for Brewer, as was listening to

concept albums A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

and following their track listings to outline his stories and

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

as a teenager. ''Storytellers Telling Stories'' wrapped with its series finale in August 2019, bringing together 27 different writers reading the work of author Traci Foust, as Foust had passed away the previous year. In October 2019, ''

Lit Hub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Con ...

'' announced a partnership with The Podglomerate, launching the ''

'', a new podcast created, produced, and hosted by Brewer. ''Lit Hub'' announced the show would explore "family life to friendship, relationships to histories, and how everything in life can be impacted by the power of a good story". Season one was sponsored by Powell's Books, including musicians who originally appeared on ''Storytellers Telling Stories'', alongside critically acclaimed and bestselling authors such as

Mitch Albom Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the ...

Lidia Yuknavitch Lidia Yuknavitch ( ; born June 18, 1963) is an American writer, teacher and editor based in Oregon. She is the author of the memoir ''The Chronology of Water'', and the novels ''The Small Backs of Children,'' '' Dora: A Headcase,'' and ''The Bo ...

, Matt Gallagher, Kim Barnes, Adelle Waldman,

Diksha Basu Diksha Basu is an American writer and actress. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel ''The Windfall'' which is under adaptation for a television series by Shonali Bose. Biography Diksha Basu was born in Delhi, to the sociologist ...

, Nathan Hill,

Caitlin Doughty Caitlin Marie Doughty (born August 19, 1984) is an American mortician, author, blogger, YouTube personality, and advocate for death acceptance and the reform of Western funeral industry practices. She is the owner of Clarity Funerals and Cre ...

, Mitchell S. Jackson, as well as a story told by Jack Rhysider, creator of the popular podcast ''

Darknet Diaries ''Darknet Diaries'' is an investigative podcast created by Jack Rhysider (), chronicling true stories about crackers, malware, botnets, cryptography, cryptocurrency, cybercrime, and Internet privacy, all subjects falling under the umbrella of " ...

''. Season 3 incorporated more experimental

cross-genre A hybrid genre is a literary genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Works in hybrid genres are often referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, mixed genre, or fusion genre. Hybrid genres are a longstanding element ...

music compositions with sampling created and arranged by Brewer. Storybound's musical shift followed Brewer wanting "to take on more of a defined shape as torybound beganunderstanding tsplace within the dramatic podcast community", and he began sampling breakout artists like Josh Garrels, MAITA, Xander Marsden, Anna Tivel, Oginalii, Marco Pavé,

Gil Assayas Gil Assayas (also known as GLASYS) is an Israeli composer, keyboardist, producer, and vocalist. Previously, he was the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the band missFlag. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Assayas released the first GLASYS ...

of GLASYS, Y La Bamba, and other Tender Loving Empire artists like French Cassettes. ''Storybound'' season 4 continued to expand and build upon the show's experimental shift, crediting Brewer for "original Storybound remixes" as well as sound design and arrangement. Along with authors such as

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magazine''. ...

, Morgan Jerkins, Omar El Akkad,

Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He went ...

, and Tamara Winfrey Harris. Season 4 features more prominent musicians such as Portico Quartet,

Dustin O'Halloran Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Early l ...

Jaymay Jamie Seerman is an American singer-songwriter from New York. She performs under the name Jaymay. Early life Jaymay was born Jamie Seerman on January 3, 1981, and was raised on Long Island. For undergrad, she studied at New College of Florida, ...

, Au Revoir Simone, Fake Shark,

Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova (born Nicole Rose Hummel; April 11, 1989), known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, c ...

The Bright Light Social Hour The Bright Light Social Hour is an American psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Jackie O'Brien on bass and vocals, Curtis Roush on guitar and vocals, Zac Catanzaro on drums, Mia Carruthers on keys and vocals, and Jua ...

, and Shook Twins. Season 5 was announced for 2022, bringing on Debbie Millman, Dante Stewart,

Stephanie Foo Stephanie Foo (born 1987) is a Malaysia-born American radio journalist, producer and author. She has worked for ''Snap Judgment'' and ''This American Life''. In 2022, she published ''What My Bones Know'', a memoir about healing from complex PT ...

Tommy Davidson Thomas Davidson (born November 10, 1963) is an American comedian and actor. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', Mitchell on ''Between Brothers'' (1997-1999), Dexter on ''Malcolm & Eddie'' (1999-2000) ...

, Dan Chaon, Imogen Binnie,

Daniel Olivas Daniel Anthony Olivas (born April 8, 1959, in Los Angeles, California) is an American author and attorney. Biography Daniel Olivas was raised near downtown Los Angeles, the middle of five children and the grandson of Mexican immigrants. He at ...

and more. Season 5 marked a tonal change for the show, cutting between interviews and author readings, blending styles from previous seasons. In 2021, Brewer was awarded 1st place in the

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

Radio Race with the following statement: Judges

Julie Shapiro Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by ''99% Invisible'' host Roman Mars and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their work. P ...

, Nick Quah,

Sean Rameswaram ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was to "Get inside the ...

, and The Kitchen Sisters praised ''BUZZY'' for "its overall ear-catching production, its unusual narration and style of delivery, its fine and original sound design and the heart of the story".

Awards

* 2021 First Place, ''BUZZY'', KCRW's Radio Race * 2020 Best Actor, ''Your Heart Is Mine'', Oregon Scream Week Horror Film Festival * 2018 Runner-up, Gertrude Press Chapbook Contest * 2017 Winner, UK Retreat West Flash Fiction Prize * 2017 Winner, New Millennium Writings Muse October Prize * 2017 Finalist, Montana Book Festival

Bibliography

Audio Adaptations

* ''BUZZY'' - KCRW's Radio Race (2021) & Storybound, Season 4 (2021) * ''Say What You Will'' - Storytellers Telling Stories, Season 2, Episode 10 (2019) * ''We Didn't Know What Was Happening'' - Storytellers Telling Stories, Season 1, Episode 21 (2018)

Film

* ''Your Heart is Mine'' (2020)

Short fiction

* "Say What You Will" - Stephen O'Donnell's ''The Untold Gaze'' (2018) * "Thank You" - ''Typishly Magazine'' (2017) * "Job #18 Divinity" - ''The Clackamas Literary Review'', 20th Anniversary Issue (2017) * "While My Wife Is Out Of Town" - Retreat West's ''Impermanent Facts'' (2017) * "The Has Been, The Dancer, The Invader" - ''Scintilla Press Magazine'', Issue 10 (2016)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Jude Living people 1989 births Writers from California Writers from Portland, Oregon Screenwriters from Oregon American podcasters American male screenwriters American male novelists American male short story writers Novelists from Oregon Western Oregon University alumni