Summary
Award-winning screenwriter and novelist specializing in speculative and socially reflective storytelling that merges technology, psychology, and human consequence. Experienced in dialogue-driven scripts and conceptual fiction reminiscent of Black Mirror, THX-1138, and Ex Machina. Background in film production and publishing with multiple international recognitions and credits on HBO-distributed features.
Screenwriting Highlights
CODE & CREATION (formerly CODE & CHEMISTRY) — Science Fiction Feature
A witty, minimalist sci-fi drama exploring gender, technology, and isolation.
• Winner, Genre Celebration Festival (Tokyo)
• Winner, Vegas Movie Awards (Best Drama/Thriller Screenplay)
• Finalist, Emerging Screenwriters Genre Competition
• Semi-Finalist, Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) — Top 1% of 7,197 entries
• Semi-Finalist, Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project (Amblin/Universal)
• Semi-Finalist, Other Worlds Austin Sci-Fi Contest
EMBRACING THE SUNRISE (formerly HARMLESS) — Crime Drama (True Story)
Two-time Quarter-Finalist, Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest (judged by Francis Ford Coppola).
FANG HUNTERS — Horror-Comedy (Optioned)
Finalist, AAA Screenplay Contest (Creative Screenwriting Magazine).
PARENTAL CONTROL — Comedy
Finalist, Other Worlds Austin; Quarter-Finalist, ScreenCraft Comedy Contest.
PHANTASMAGORIUM — Horror (Optioned)
Supernatural psychological thriller; optioned for development.
THE TREE (aka FAITH & FAIRIES) — Fantasy
Quarter-Finalist, Nicholl Fellowships; multiple finalist and semi-finalist honors (Chesterfield, Maui Writers, Genre Celebration Festival).
Published Author
FAITH & FAIRIES (Fantasy Novel, 2005)
Praised by Grandmaster Andre Norton and reviewers for its blend of wonder and classic adventure.
“An enchanting tale full of humor and whimsy… reminiscent of The Chronicles of Narnia.” — Eldon Thompson
“In the class of L. Frank Baum, Terry Brooks, or Stephen Donaldson.” — Midwest Book Review
THE REALITY DIVISION (Short Story) — Eppie Award Winner
Appeared in Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad (2009).
CHANGE (Short Story) — Pronto! Writings from Rome (2002).
Editor: THE SYNOPSIS TREASURY (WordFire Press, 2015)
Collection of real synopsis submissions from top authors including Heinlein, Herbert, Brin, Card, and Brooks — a professional reference on how publishable fiction is pitched.
Film Production
Co-Producer, THE FIRST OF MAY (HBO, TBN)
Feature film starring Julie Harris, Mickey Rooney, and Joe DiMaggio.
Received Award of Excellence (Film Advisory Board), The Dove Award, and multiple Best Film festival awards.
Education & Mentorship
• B.A. in Radio/TV/Film, University of North Texas
• B.S. in Software & Web Development, Devry University
• Studied creative writing under Terry Brooks, Ben Bova, John Saul, Dorothy Allison, and Lawrence Montaigne
Skills
Experience Level
Language
Work Experience
Education
Qualifications
Industry Experience
- Award of Excellence, Film Advisory Board
- Dove Award, The Dove Foundation
- Best Film — Feature Drama, Burbank International Children’s Film Festival
- Best Child Actor Performance, Burbank International Children’s Film Festival
- Best of Fest, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
- Best of the Fest, Florida International Children’s Film Festival
- Grand Prize, Adelphi / Bravo Excellence in Independent Filmmaking — Hollywood in the Rockies Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award — Dramatic Feature, Film Fest New Haven
- Children’s Jury Prize — Best Feature, Alekino Children’s Film Festival (Poland)
- Premier Film Award, Heartland Film Festival
About The First of May
The First of May is an award-winning family drama feature film co-produced by Christopher Sirmons Haviland, starring Julie Harris, Dan Byrd, Charles Nelson Reilly, and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in his final screen appearance. Directed by Paul Sirmons, the film tells a timeless story of intergenerational friendship, courage, and belonging.
Logline:
An unwanted boy and a forgotten old lady find that running away to join the circus is really coming home.
Released in 1997, The First of May went on to achieve broad international distribution, including foreign theatrical markets (1999–2000), HBO (2000–present), Amazon Prime, TBN, ION Television, and three separate Region 1 DVD editions — one of which was released under the alternate title Two for the Show.
Awards & Honors:
Heartfelt, nostalgic, and gently humorous, The First of May celebrates the courage to rediscover hope at any age — a reminder that home isn’t a place, but the people we dare to love.
- Winner, Genre Celebration Festival (Tokyo)
- Winner, Vegas Movie Awards (Best Drama / Thriller Screenplay)
- Finalist, Emerging Screenwriters Genre Competition
- Semi-Finalist, Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences — Top 1% of 7,197 entries)
- Semi-Finalist, Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project (Universal Pictures / Amblin Entertainment)
- Semi-Finalist, Other Worlds Austin Sci-Fi Screenwriting Contest
- Semi-Finalist, Dallas International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition 2023
- Quarter-Finalist, New Century Writer Awards
- Quarter-Finalist, Script Lab 2020 Screenplay Contest
- the erosion of freedoms through technological isolationism and the claustrophobia of control
- gender awareness and the birth of sexual consciousness in an artificial society
- the intuition and perils of true AI, where machine logic collides with human emotion
- cultural dysfunctions and crowd mentality arising from blind conformity
- the morality of social experiments, civil disobedience, and the fear of shame
- self-delusion and the quest for identity in a closed system
- echoes of Adam & Eve and the mythic awakening of forbidden knowledge
- philosophical allusions to Quantum Superposition — realities coexisting until one truth is chosen
About Code & Creation
Code & Creation (formerly Code & Chemistry) is an award-winning, minimalist science fiction screenplay written by C.S. Haviland. Conceived deliberately for a micro-budget production, it unfolds almost entirely on a single set with a lone actor whose only contact with others comes through “cam-screens.” Blending satire, symbolism, and psychological suspense, it examines isolation, self-awareness, and conformity within an over-controlled, tech-driven society — evoking the spirit of THX-1138, Moon, Cube, and Ex Machina.
Logline:
In a retro-tech underground reality where only women exist—each living in isolation and using machines to create other women in distant habitats—the accidental creation of a man shatters their society and exposes the illusion of their perfect world.
The screenplay has earned nine honors across major international contests, including:
Themes & Motifs:
Code & Creation fuses speculative technology with psychological allegory, exploring:
At once witty and unsettling, Code & Creation is a thought-provoking chamber piece about consciousness, control, and the human cost of perfection — a mirror held up to our AI-driven age and its struggle between individuality and obedience.
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