A television producer and screenwriter, Maya Perez was most recently a co-producer on the Untitled Joshua Jackson & Lauren Ridloff Project for Starz. Prior to that, she worked on Showtime’s American Rust S2 as an executive story editor. Maya was an executive producer on the television series On Story on PBS for eleven seasons. Nominated for two Lone Star EMMY Awards®, On Story won a Lone Star EMMY Award® for Best Interview/Discussion Program Series in 2018, for the episode "Arrival: A Conversation with Eric Heisserer," and for Best Arts/Entertainment Program in 2014, for the episode "Breaking Bad: A Conversation with Vince Gilligan." Her screenplays have been recognized by fellowships from SFFILM/Westridge, Sundance Institute, and NY Stage & Film, and she was named one of MovieMaker Magazine and Austin Film Festival’s “25 Screenwriters to Watch.”
Maya's short stories and essays have been published in Texas Monthly, American Short Fiction, Joyland, Electric Lit, and more. In addition, she co-edited three collections of interviews with filmmakers published by the University of Texas Press: On Story — Screenwriters and Their Craft (2013), On Story — Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films (2016), and On Story — The Golden Ages of Television (October 2018).
Maya received her BA from Vassar College and her MFA as a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers. Maya grew up in Kenya, Zambia, and the United States and now lives in Austin, Texas, where she teaches screenwriting at The University of Texas at Austin.
