Mark Axelrod

Mark Axelrod is a Professor and Director of the John Fowles Center for Creative Writing at Chapman University's Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. With academic credentials from Indiana University (BA, MA) and the University of Minnesota (PhD), he has received five NEA grants and two Fulbright Awards for teaching in Brazil and Sweden.

• Education: BA/MA from Indiana University, PhD from University of Minnesota
• Leadership: Director of John Fowles Center for Creative Writing

His research spans screenwriting, creative writing, and literary criticism, with a focus on narrative innovation, film adaptation, and experimental fiction. Recent works include the 2023 novel Malarkey, Lost Among the Greeks and the screenplay This is Not a Screenplay (2023), which won at the Paris International Film Festival.

Notable awards include two Leverhulme Fellowships, multiple film festival accolades (Geneva, Paris, Berlin), and recognition for Women of a Certain Age (2023). His publications have appeared in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, New York Quarterly, and World Literature Today. Current projects include a trilogy exploring life during the pandemic and critical essays on Scandinavian literature.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Two Leverhulme Fellowships
  • Five NEA Grants
  • Two Fulbright Awards
  • Paris International Film Festival Best Screenplay (2023)
  • Berlin International Screenwriting Festival Finalist (2023)
• Recent Grants:
  • NEA funding for creative writing initiatives
  • International film festival grants