Writers Guild-nominated writer grateful to Comic-Con on her 20th anniversary of attending
July 22, 2009: Television and game writer Anne Toole is delighted to announce she will be speaking once again on game writing at San Diego Comic-Con. The panel, “Writing for the Computer Gaming Industry,” takes place Thursday, July 23 at 5:30pm in Room 4 and will serve as part of her 20th anniversary of attending San Diego Comic-Con, itself in its 40th year.
The panel will include tips for writers interested in breaking into the game industry and hints about some of her upcoming game projects. Toole credits San Diego Comic-Con for her career as a writer.
“Going to Comic-Con as a kid opened up my mind to the possibility of a writing career,” said Toole. “As a girl, it was never on my radar to write comics until I met people who actually made a living doing it – or at least faked it really well. Over the past twenty years, I’ve met writers for games, animation, and live action television who have inspired me to keep moving forward. I am happy to give some of that mojo back.”
Anne Toole is a WGA-nominated writer with credits that include computer games, one-hour television, comics, and short fiction. Toole started her career in television and has worked in syndication, cable, broadcast primetime and daytime. After writing for Days of our Lives, she was hired away as Head Writer for MMO Stargate Worlds. She lent her pen to such games as fantasy MMO Wizard 101 and The Witcher, earning her a Writers Guild nomination. Due to her transmedia experience, Toole was invited to speak about the future of entertainment at the inaugural Nokia OpenLab 2008 and has spoken at South by Southwest and the ION Game Conference. She also serves as the Mentorship Chair for the Women in Games SIG of the International Games Developers Association (IGDA). She earned a degree in Archaeology from Harvard and currently lives in West Hollywood.
At the game writing panel, Toole will be joined by veteran game writers Neal Hallford (Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeon Siege), Chris Avellone (Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights II), Haris Orkin (Call of Juarez 2: Bound In Blood), and John Zuur Platten (F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin, Ghostbusters) with moderator Jana Hallford (co-author of Swords & Circuitry: A Designer’s Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games).
Toole will complete her 20th anniversary celebration with an invite-only party with writers, editors, fans, and friends she has met along the way. “In the last twenty years, no matter where I lived or where I went to school, Comic-Con has been the one constant in my life. I wanted a reunion of sorts.” The guests will include the family who first brought Toole to Comic-Con, who now run an independent comics company.
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Contact Anne Toole at thewritetoole@gmail.com to schedule an interview.
