Another Rejection for PERSONAL DEMONS

 Just got this email:

"

Dear Erik D., This is an automated email to notify you that PEEPHOLE filmfest has updated the Judging Status of your submission. Personal Demons Not Selected Project was not selected to be included in festival. You can contact PEEPHOLE filmfest by replying to this email or sending an email to peepholefilmfest@gmail.com.

Not going to lie, this is disheartening.

This is my 5th festival rejection of 2026.

Has the magic worn off?

Has my luck run out?

Or am I just in a bit of a dry spell?

I guess I am just so impacted by these recent rejections because I am so used to winning. Thus far I have 19 either wins or near-wins since 2019. I suppose no one can maintain that impressive of a track record for that long (7 years!). It's just disheartening that I haven't had a win yet in 2026 (save for my "quarter-finalist" status at Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Awards).   

However... onward I trudge.  

 

 

New David Kemp Story

Tonight I cranked out a few pages (with some poetic prose that I am quite proud of) in a new short story featuring my literary avatar, David Kemp.

It is called "Sherpa of Rock Bottom".

My writing was finally starting to get to where I was proud of the creative, original and organic descriptions I was producing... and now I have decided that I must quit for the night.

Why?

Because I need to decompress and watch some 4K special features and documentaries. 

Writing is, after all, difficult, to say the least, and painful, at its worst/best.

I need time on a Saturday night to not feel emotionally and creatively drained. 

On the plus side: this is the first time I have actively written during the school year.

Hopefully this is the start of a new trend.

I rather hope it is.

I don't know if I can survive another year without writing routinely from August to May, with a quick interlude in December-January.  

Another Festivcal Accolade for MUSCLES & WINE

I don't want to jinx this, or sound too arrogant... but I think I have another hit on my hands.

Again, it is so gratifying to know that I am not a one-hit wonder and that I can write as goods in comedy as I can in horror.

Man, I hope Muscles & Wine gets made.

Honestly I just want to share my stories with the world. 

Each festival win (or near-win) brings me closer to that goal.  

Dear Erik D., Congratulations! Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Awards has updated the Judging Status of your submission Muscles & Wine to Quarter-Finalist. Muscles & Wine Quarter-Finalist Project has been selected as a quarter-finalist in festival. You can contact Filmmatic Comedy Screenplay Awards by replying to this email or sending an email to info@filmmatic.com.

 

DEPRAVITY... page 44

Wrote about 5 pages in Depravity this evening.

Not much, but sometimes that's all you need.

I love the world these characters exist in. 

Neo-noir splatterpunk.  

I like that.

Think I'll use that.  

Anyhow, I'm still loving the world-building and the characters.

Wrote an especially gruesome scene a few nights ago.

Trying to get as much on the page as I can before I head back to school on August 11th. 

But even the return of the academic paper shuffle will not deter me from finishing this script.

Writing this makes me feel alive. 

Awards from Portland Comedy Film Festival

 Just got this email and my laurels (below the email):

"Hi Erik,

Thank you for submitting to the Portland Comedy Film Festival Fall 2026.

Your screenplay, Muscles & Wine, has been named a finalist for the
Best Dark Comedy Feature Screenplay Award.

Your personalized certificate and both versions of the award finalist
laurels are available through the direct Google Drive links below.
Each link opens one individual file. To save a file, open the link and
use Google Drive's Download option.

 

If you have any trouble opening or saving these files, please email me
back. I will be happy to help.

Please help us spread the word by sharing the news on social media.
The complete list of award finalists is available here:

https://filmfestivalcircuit.com/event/portland-comedy-film-festival-fall-2026

Award winners will be announced on Monday, September 21, at Clinton
Street Theater in Portland, Oregon. Attendance is not required to win.
If you attend the event, your certificate will be presented to you on
stage during our live awards ceremony.

Tickets and complete event details are available on the event page linked above.

Thank you again for supporting the festival with your submission.
Congratulations, and have a great week!

Mikel Fair
Film Festival Circuit CEO"

 

  

Awards from Austin Comedy Film Festival

 Just got my awards certificates and laurels from the Austin Comedy Film Festival.

So, I am an "awards finalist"... not sure if that means I am still in competition for a bigger award... and, if I don't mind said "bigger award", will I still be an Official Selection?

I guess I should ask these questions.

But I have some laurels to show off in the meantime. 

Makes me feel good! 

 

 

 

MUSCLES & WINE's SECOND Festival Win!

So... my bromantic, feel-good buddy comedy screenplay Muscles & Wine just had its second festival of the summer!
It is an official selection of the Portland Comedy Festival!
This is seriously gratifying!
This means I might actually be a good screenwriter!
But not only that, but I can write comedy as well as horror.
I honestly never thought anything I wrote was funny before... and I did not know if Muscles & Wine read as funny as I thought it did in my head.
But here we are!
So incredibly grateful and thankful! 

What a great way to end the summer!