Steven Kunes

Playwright
he/him/his

Steven Kunes is an American author, playwright, screenwriter and executive producer who was born on September 7, 1956 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and attended New York University where he received B.A. degrees in Creative Writing and Comparative Literature (both with honors) in 1978.   In 1983, at age 26, TV legend Norman Lear hired Kunes to write and develop half-hour comedies for his company, Embassy Television. This led to assignments in the areas of one-hour TV, movies-of-the-week, a five-year stint writing monologues for Johnny Carson, and eventually took him to motion pictures, where Kunes became one of Hollywood's most respected script doctors. In 2015, Kunes created the hit comedy series "Over My Dead Body" which streams on Amazon Prime. In 2018, his novel "Uncle Jerry to Win," his collection of plays "Four on the Floor: Four Plays," and his collection of screenplays "Pick Six: Six Screenplays" were published and are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Kunes has received many awards over the years and is an active member of the Writers Guild of America, the Authors Guild, the Dramatists Guild, PEN America, the TED Foundation, the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences (Emmys), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (Oscars.) On November 14, 2021, Kunes presented his TEDx talk in Philadelphia called "Square One at 60." He divides his time between Los Angeles and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Highlights

Mr. Kunes has had his works presented as staged readings, workshops, and full productions at theaters across the country, including Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, Theatre West in Los Angeles, Sky Pilot Theatre in North Hollywood, the Tennessee Williams Theatre in Key West, and at the Dramatists Guild Foundation Music Hall in NYC.   Other Awards: City of Santa Barbara Annual Awards (2010/”Letter of Recognition from the Mayor”), Social Venture Partners of Silicon Valley’s iMagine Award (2007/”Great Books e-Curriculum”), Valley International Film Festival’s Vision Award For Writing (2004/”Rain Man”), International Distance Learning Center’s Helping Hand Award (2003/”MyGlobalClassroom”), WGA’s William E. Kelley Award: Hollywood’s Top Ten Unproduced Screenplays (2003/”Acquitted”), NYU’s William Faulkner Award For Short Fiction (1978/"The Mixologist In Residence.")