Biography of Sally McLean

Poet, playwright, lyricist and screenwriter, Sally began her obsession with the written word at the age of 12, when she wrote her first novel. Being all too aware of her other obsession - that of perfectionism - she gave her one and only copy of the manuscript to a friend to keep in a safe place for a while, so she wouldn't be tempted to rework it for the thirtieth time. Unfortunately that friend's mother discovered the work and, mistaking this handwritten masterpiece for her son's old homework notes, used it for kindling in the sitting room fireplace over the ensuing winter. Several things were learnt from this series of events. Most particularly - never give the only copy of your work to anyone (especially if they have a fireplace in their home and have been born into a family headed by a frighteningly neat mother) and if you want to keep something safe, don't give it to a boy who loses his diary and wallet more often than he eats breakfast. Deciding from this experience that maybe novels weren't her thing, Sally focussed instead on poetry - going on to become a published poet at the age of 15, which continues to the present day. She has been published in various anthologies in Australia, the UK, US and Canada, culminating in being named an International Poet of Merit for 2002 (obviously those editors didn't have a fireplace handy). She branched out to short story and children's tales in 2000, again being published in magazines and anthologies in Australia, Canada and the UK, and is currently working on her first short story collection for publication. During this period, her pseudonym - "A.M. Serpentine" - first appeared on her work. She's not really sure why that name came into being - it just seemed a good idea at the time, and she still uses it when the mood takes her. In 1997, Sally suddenly had the inspiration to try her hand at writing a screenplay. The feature, "A Little Rain Must Fall", was written in three months and produced by Mynfel Films in London, with Sally in the lead role (yes, she is also an actress). The film was launched at Ealing Studios to an invited audience, which resulted in discussions with the BBC and the Bravo Channel in the UK, as well as invitations for screenings from the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals. Realising that she had found a new medium to play with, she dedicated every waking minute to her next feature script "The Legend of Dalny" (working title), which is now represented for production in the UK. She has additionally written two plays "Chasing Pegasus (a play in ten chords)" and "PS I Love You", both of which have been produced in Melbourne, with a third undergoing rewrites - "Bayonets & Bully Beef". She has also written the two short films "fixNATION" and "Brigit & Benny (a modern faerietale)", both of which have been filmed and seen on television channels such as Foxtel and Channel 31 in Australia. Figuring that enough time had passed, Sally then returned to the arena of writing prose pieces longer than ten pages, and is currently tearing out her hair over her first novel as an adult - "Antaguar" - due for completion sometime in the next decade (if she can get her head around the concept of deadlines and sticking to her well-conceived, but poorly applied writing schedule). She is additionally distracting herself with two more screenplays "Eating the Lotus" and "1956". Her current project is as writer/director on an as yet untitled documentary project for Australian television. She still finds the time to jot down the odd poem and short story - although she would like to ask the thief who stole her bag back in 2001 to please return her writer's journal, as she is sure there was at least one really brilliant poem contained therein that she can't remember a single line from - and it's keeping her awake at nights. It's either that, or the coffee. Agent: L'Abbett Artists Management