Joan Dougherty

I’m a writer with a lifelong interest in storytelling who’s recently made the transition from print to film. I’ve finished a first screenplay called Over the Edge about a young jail guard in a rural village who arrests a returning childhood friend to prevent her from telling their shared story.

For most of my career, I’ve worked as an editor of books and magazines. I edited publications for teachers, including the monthly magazine Education Manitoba, books for a university press, and articles for a beautiful visual arts magazine, Border Crossings, where I worked as the copy editor.

I always thought that when I finally had time do my own creative work I’d write a novel or two. So that’s what I tried but soon became impatient with the form. I’ve come to find that my interests are more closely aligned with plays than novels, so screenwriting seems to be a great fit. All’s not lost in the switch since the story I had begun developing as a novel has now become Over the Edge, the screenplay I mentioned above. It’s about stories told, withheld or suppressed.

I am a dual citizen, both American and Canadian, and am keenly interested in what happens on both sides of that long international border.