What’s the old William Goldman quote? “Remember this rule: Nobody knows anything in Hollywood.” Well our speaker at this month’s meeting may well prove to be an exception.

With more than thirty years experience in the publishing world, and over ten years in entertainment, Ken Atchity is a writer, producer, teacher, consultant, and literary manager, responsible for launching dozens of books and films. Through his L.A. based company, Atchity Entertainment International, Inc., Atchity has developed a proven track record of selling both screenplays and books. Many of his clients have become household names and bestsellers -- including Mary Taylor with her recent novel Bedroom Games and Steve Alten’s Meg. Others were already famous when Ken developed books for them, including Governor Jesse Ventura’s I Ain’t Got Time to Bleed and Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not (for which he’s recently set up a four-film deal at Paramount in co-production with Alphaville, producers of The Mummy). Ken has worked extensively on numerous film and TV projects in Hollywood, and in 2000, he served as producer for John Scott Shepherd's Joe Somebody, directed by John Pasquin, and starring Tim Allen, which was released by Fox 2000 and New Regency in December of 2000. He most recently served as executive producer for Shepard’s latest project, Life or Something Like It directed by Stephen Herek, starring Angelina Jolie and Ed Burns.

Consulting, marketing, editing, producing, managing – Atchity offers a one stop resource for writers in all facets of story. But he doesn’t stop there – Ken is an accomplished writer himself, serving as the editor of tomes in mythology, folklore, and classic literature. In fact, this man excels in writing about writing. He’s the author of A Writers Time: Making the Time to Write, co-authored Writing Treatments That Sell with partner Ch-Li Wong, and he has just finished his new book, How to Publish Your Novel (forthcoming from SquareOne Books).

Just a quick flip through Atchity’s works and website, and you’ll find that not only does he have proven success at marketing writers, but he also has a broad foundational understanding of the structure of story. In his book, A Writers Time: Making the Time to Write, Ken references the importance of a writer’s need to understand the basic underlying structure supplied through old mythic stories, as well as the importance of structural symbolism to both page and screen. He writes:

“Examining the myth beneath your story (‘mythic story analysis’) will help you clarify your story. In the film Indecent Proposal, the story went astray because the ‘mythic deep structure’ was lost sight of in the glow of the star system. Underlying the story is the Mephistopheles myth--Faust's ‘pact with the devil.’ In this myth, the hero longs for something he can't have (knowledge, power, money, sex); the devil comes to offer it to him in exchange for his soul. He accepts the bargain, and enjoys what he longed for until he realizes the enjoyment is hollow. The devil then comes to claim the bargainer's soul. In the final act, Faust either is redeemed and given a second chance (as in Damn Yankees and The Devil and Daniel Webster) or is taken, howling, down to hell (as in Goethe's Faust). Note that in either version the important catalyst is the antagonist's (the devil's) consistency. Faust may change his mind, and wish the deal undone; but the devil sticks to his guns.”

Ken’s favorite quote is from anthropologist Levi-Strauss: “Myth is public dream; dream is private myth.” Now that’s powerful stuff. Ken and his companies AEI Inc. (www.aeionline.com) and The Writer’s Lifeline, Inc. (www.thewriterslifeline.com), offer a rare opportunity for writers to hone their craft and perfect their story with the aid of a man who knows how to both solve the problems of story structure and market the final draft. Ken speaks to the Dallas Screenwriters Association at 7p.m., Friday January 24^th at the Stoneleigh Hotel located on the corner of Maple and Wolf streets in Dallas’ uptown district. For more information e-mail finley@dallasscreenwriters.com. If you have a good story, Ken has the contacts, knowledge, and resources to help get it written and sold. So wake the kids and phone the neighbors. This is one meeting you won’t want to miss.