Creative Writing Program

Chris Riley

Professor of Story

Prof. Riley is a screenwriter with 20 years of experience, whose first film, After The Truth, an award-winning courtroom thriller written with his wife, Kathleen Riley, sparked international controversy when it was released in Germany.

He is a veteran of the Warner Bros. script department, Riley is the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. From 2005 through 2008, he served as director of the acclaimed Act One Writing Program in Hollywood, which trains Christians for careers as writers and executives in film and TV.

Dr. Julie Anne Stevens

Adjunct Professor of Humanities

Prof. Stevens publishes and lectures on Irish literature and the visual arts, nineteenth and twentieth century Irish and American women’s writing, illustrated children’s books, and short fiction

She lectures on nineteenth and twentieth-century Irish writing, the short story, visual culture and literature, children’s literature and fantasy/satire texts.

Her research interests center on Anglo-Irish literature, visual discourse in literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and children’s literature by writers of adult fiction.

Vernon Mortensen

Professor of Film Producing and Distribution

Prof. Mortensen is a filmmaker, businessman and a veteran of the international film festival scene. His wide-ranging career has included writing, directing & producing the western/thriller 'The Sorrow', as well as serving as an executive producer on 'The Kid: Chamaco'.

Currently works for the motion picture production/distribution company Rogue Arts as a film and television producer and a distribution executive.

Steven Kramp

Professor of Creative Writing & Chair of Humanities & Theology<

Prof. Kramp is a published poet, theologian, and musician.

He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the renowned program at University of Iowa, in addition to a Masters in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

He is currently concluding work on two books entitled The Lion’s Mouth, a lyrical memoir, and Holy Saturday, a large-scale poetic work based on the Triduum and the Stations of the Cross.

His diverse experience includes being an impassioned educator and mentor, a committed literary artist, a performing musician, and a youth minister and high school teacher

Bill Marsilii

Adjunct Professor of Screenwriting

Prof. Bill Marsilii is an American writer, producer, and director who broke records with his screenplay for the time-travel thriller movie Déjà vu starring Denzel Washington and Paula Patton.

He also co-produced the drama, sports movie Woodlawn in 2015, telling the story of a gifted football player battling racial tension on and off the field.

He also been a guest lecturer and professional mentor to a wide variety of film and screenwriting programs across the United States, including USC, UCLA, Pepperdine University, and Barry University in Miami.

Sheryl Anderson

Visiting Professor of TV Writing

Prof. Sheryl is an accomplished author, television writer, and producer with over 20 years of experience. Over the course of her career, Sheryl has written and produced for hit TV shows such as Charmed, Flash Gordon, Ties that Bind, and the Netflix original series Sweet Magnolias. She began her career as a development executive for Grant Tinker's GTG Entertainment where she wrote for half-hour sitcoms Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Dave's World.

Sheryl has also published four novels in her Molly Forrester series. In addition to her writing, she has taught for Act One, an instructional program for Christian screenwriters, and for UCLA's Writer's Extension Program.

Robin Murray, PhD

Adjunct Professor of Humanities

Prof. Murray is a classicist whose research focusses on Imperial Rome, early Christianity and ancient philosophy. Her dissertation analyzed the theme of death and death preparation in the Satyrica, an ancient novel by Petronius who, although a friend to the Emperor Nero, was forced to commit suicide by him in 66 A.D. More broadly, she studies the Graeco-Roman world and strives to make it relevant to people of today. She received her PhD in Classics from UC Irvine where she taught classes on the history and literature of ancient Greece and Rome and served as the assistant editor to the Classics journal TAPA (Transactions of the American Philological Society). She lives in Northern San Diego with her husband and children.

Megan Eccles

Adjunct Professor of Humanities

Prof. Eccles writes dark, speculative fiction for young adults and is represented by Laura Galit of LKG Agency. Her writing has appeared in Kelp Journal, Coachella Review, Ladies of the Fright, The Lineup, and Dwarf+Giant.

She is editorial assistant and social media manager for Hill Nadell Literary Agency.