Karen Jeynes

Dramaturge, Playwright, Screenwriter, Script Consultant and Producer

Cape Town, South Africa

Member Since:
February 2012

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

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About Karen

Karen Jeynes has worked extensively as a writer for the screen, and is perhaps best known for her work with Both Worlds as the head writer for ZANews: Puppet Nation (winner of 29 SAFTAs including Best TV Comedy 6 years in a row, Best Comedy Writing, two WGSA awards for Best TV Comedy, and two time International Emmy Nominee for Best TV Comedy). She is head writer on Recipes for Love and Murder, a drama series in development. Other productions she has developed and overseen are Point of Order (SAFTA winner for Best Game Show in 2017), Comedy Central News, and Parlement Parlement (SAFTA nominee for Best Game Show in 2019). Karen has worked with Pixel Perfect, writing Bioskop movies for Mzansi Magic - Ingozi lo Thando, Umhlolokazi, Ukuphila kaBili and Land of Milk and Honey - as well as the feature film Daswa. Her screenplay In the Garden is in preproduction with iKasi Media.

Karen has varied prior experience in theatre and television, both writing and producing. Her plays include the multi award-winning Everybody Else (is F*cking Perfect) (Best Comedy 2005), Kiss Kiss, I’ll Have What She’s Having, and Laying Blame (translated into 7 languages), as well as Vaslav, nominated for 3 Fleur du Cap Awards. She is one of the first four members of How Now Brown Cow’s Writer’s Collective, busy developing a new stage play. She served as head writer for 90 Plein Street, as well as writing for shows like Thabang Thabong, Vaya Mzansi, Moferefere Lenyalong and Supastrikas. She is in demand as a script consultant and advisor, working with local and international production companies and individual writers. She worked with Kyknet as a mentor on their Grapkas project, is a juror for the International Emmys’ Peter Ustinov Award, and is an evaluator for the KZN Film Commission and the NFVF.

She has also written numerous radio dramas, for Bush Radio, SAFm, and BBC World Service. Her teenage novels, Jacques Attack (co-authored with Nkuli Sibeko) and Flipside, (co-authored with Eeshaam September), were released by New Africa Books, and she has published short stories, poetry, and articles with publications like Mail and Guardian and Africa Check. Her satirical self-help book The Karen Book of Rules, co-authored with Karin Schimke, was published in 2020 by Tafelberg. She's currently completing her MA in Writing for Script and Screen through Falmouth University. You can find her on twitter @karenjeynes.

Gender:
Female