Merridith Allen

Merridith Allen proudly comes from a big, loud, Jewish family in New York City with deep roots in the theater and performing arts. A writer/director/producer, Merridith tells stories about women in the martial arts, drama and action spaces.

She has won several writing scholarships and fellowships from such prestigious organizations as the Sewanee Writer's Conference, the San Miguel de Allende Writer's Conference, Stowe Story Labs, and VCCA. Notably, she was a finalist for the Austin Film Festival's writing competition, The Blacklist/WIF TV fellowship, and the Juilliard Fellowship. Merridith's plays have been produced and published nationally and abroad, and her first short film, BLACK ROSE, based on the award-winning feature screenplay, is set to come out in 2025.

Further, Merridith enjoys creative non-fiction, and she has been published by The Sun Magazine, Burlesque Press, and The Edinburgh University Review. Merridith's day jobs have included screenwriting/creative writing instructor, martial arts instructor, audio description writer, true-crime podcast writer, and yoga instructor. When Merridith is not diving into a story on her lap top or throwing people across the room on the mats, she can be found searching for the perfect cup of coffee and a decent bagel in her adopted city, Los Angeles. All suggestions are welcome. Merridith is absolutely thrilled to join IWC and looks forward to creating and collaborating with the wonderful writers in the organization.

Honors & Awards

Finalist, Austin Film Festival - SENSEI - 2023, Finalist, Stowe Story Labs FINALIST, Stowe Story Labs - THE LAST DAYS OF ROCK AND ROLL - 2024 FINALIST/LONG-LIST, The Blacklist/WIF TV Lab - STUNTWOMAN - 2024