Meet Stephen W. Martin | Author / Screenwriter / Gundam Pilot Trainee

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephen W. Martin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen W., what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Outside of spending time with my wife and dog (Scrooge) I’d have to say the things that make me happy now are the same things that made me happy as a kid. Toys and good stories in any of their forms (movies, anime, manga, comics, books). A good, well told story has the power to stop time and keep you wrapped tightly in its grasp like a bear hug from an old friend. It’s an amazing feeling I chase every Saturday morning with a hot cup of Sencha tea (shout out Tortoise General Store) and whatever new book I’m diving into. Right now it’s Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man and if you haven’t read/seen the anime STOP READING and watch it NOW!!!!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Writing for kids animation has always been a dream of mine. When I was a kid I used to set my alarm clock for 7am on Saturday mornings so I wouldn’t miss any cartoons. Even to this day I’m still watching every new cartoon that drops (shout out ‘Kiff’ on Disney – watch it! It’s amazing!) Since moving to Los Angeles, this dream of working in animation has come true! I was very lucky to be one of the writers on Max’s Keane’s Trash Truck. This show was so fun to write for and working with amazing show runners like Max and Angie was incredible. I learned so much from both of them and when our show got nominated for an Emmy for outstanding writing in a preschool show back in 2021 – well… I LOST MY MIND. I also had the pleasure of writing for one of my favorite animated Sci-Fi shows Bravest Warriors’ which was created by Pen Ward (the mad genius behind Adventure Time.) Working with Ben Townsend (the show runner for season 4) was so fun, he was the kind of show runner that welcomed the most insane off the wall ideas and then together you would find a way to make them work for the episode! It was so fun creating in that world! Right now I’m developing two original animated shows for kids and looking forward to my next freelance gig/ writer’s room.

As for my picture book writing, I’ve always been obsessed with the medium! I think for almost everyone, picture books are what introduced you into the world of reading and art, so right there you can feel the importance and impact picture books have on people!

Also, picture books have changed so much in the last 20 years! Gone are the long winded, morality tales with messages delivered with the subtlety of a sledge hammer (okay not fully, there are still some of those… I’m just not a fan) but most modern picture books are like a killer short film. They hit you hard and get in and out, delivering laughs or tears in under 500 words. Wasn’t it some British dude…William… something that said – “Brevity is the soul of wit.” And modern picture book writing is all about Brevity!

Whenever I start a new book, my goal is to pack as much heart and humor into a story that can be condensed down into the least number of words I can possibly use. And if I can do that while also subverting genre norms and pushing the reader further from their comfort zone, then I know I’m working on something special… well fingers crossed.

I believe a lot of the magic in picture books comes from the space between the pages… the small moments where one page ends and the other has yet to appear… recently I’ve been pushing myself to fill this space with as much anticipation, tension, and imagination that I can muster. It’s these small pauses, these absent spaces that push story beyond and make it stay a little longer in our memory.

My favorite book that’s in print right now is called Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion – it’s about a cat that’s soooooooo cute if you look at her you EXPLODE! Yup – that’s right explode! KABOOM! It’s also a tale about self acceptance, friendship, and people’s perception of others – but I wrap all that up in a story with a ton of death and destruction. And kids LOVED IT!!! It was voted the best new picture book by sooooo many schools back in 2022 and it earned me my first Publishers Weekly Star and Kirkus Star.

I hope as you read this article I’ve inspired you to at least wander over to the children’s book section next time you are in an independent bookstore or even a Barnes and Noble and pick up a picture book. I promise you, in the 5 minutes it will take you to read the story – you will be transported to a place of pure imagination, where you will remember things you thought you forgot… or lost….
A place where some pages will make you laugh or even make you cry… but in less than 5 minutes the story will be over and you’ll be taken back to the ‘real world’ where you can make the choice to head back to a real serious ‘book-book’ or throw caution to the wind and crack open another picture book to see how far the rabbit hole goes…. either way you will never be the same again.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First off, Little Tokyo – you can spend a day checking out the food spots and cool little shops in the area. But Kinokuniya is a MUST! It’s a cool Japanese bookstore found in the Weller Court Shopping mall. You can find all the raddest new manga and art books both in Japanese and English! So if you are looking for inspiration, this is the place! Also… terrible shameless plug, you can find my book ‘Charlotte and the Rock’ in Japanese in the children’s picture book section.

For food it’s got to be Hae Jang Chon Korean BBQ Restaurant for the BEST Korean all you can eat BBQ in the city! That’s right I said it – it really is the best! Then after you are completely stuffed head over to the CGV theatre in Ktown to check out the newest Korean film and don’t forget to order a bucket of the BEST POPCORN in the city – my personal favorite is a salted on one side and sour cream and onion flavor on the other.

And a must visit for me has to be the PCC and Rosebowl flea markets – I’m a vintage toy collector and recently due to ‘We are Rewind’ making a killer cassette player – I’ve dived back into tape collecting. There is no better place to score a vintage General mills Frankenberry or an R.E.M. mix tape.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to give three shoutouts – first to my amazing wife Lola; without her my writing career would not be possible. She is and will forever be my inspiration and muse. My second shout out goes to my amazing literary agent Ammi-Joan Paquette – Joan is my partner in literary crime, she not only champions all my most insane stories but also challenges me go further than I thought possible! Third would be my manager Siobhan Murphy – Siobhan’s eye for structure and story is the stuff of legend and with every draft she pushes me to produce only my best material! (Also… she’s been to all of my comic con panels which shows an insane level of support because I tell the same 6 jokes every year lol)

Oh! oh! oh! Can I also give a shout out to four friends whose work inspires me!! First off, Ryan Spindell – a horror director that can make my skin crawl with a smile on my face. Next up, Michael Jonathan Smith and Benjamin Townsend (say his name in a British accent) – these guys are the best screenwriters I know and both are of the nicest dudes you will ever meet. Seriously – I once baked Michael an ‘ALF’ cake which looked like a crime against humanity, but, being way too nice, he cut off a slice and forced it down…. And last but not least is the incredible Dave Caine, a hilarious kids’ animation writer and director who I like so much I eat vegan burritos with! All four of these dudes are amazing humans – and I am very lucky to call them friends!

Website: www.Stephen-W-Martin.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenwmartin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-w-martin-76153b68/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stephen_W_M

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.w.martin

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGMHdLQj1iU

Other: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Stephen-W-Martin/150795844 Also You can check my own short film ‘DEAD HEARTS’ – A young mortician learns that not even death can stand in the way of true love. A whimsical, gothic bedtime story filled with love, loss, taxidermy, Kung Fu, and biker werewolves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGMHdLQj1iU

Image Credits
my headshot was taken by Alan Mamari