There are not many who would deem that Theatre and Publishing could go hand-in-hand. For Michael Mejias, Front Desk Administrator/ Director of the Internship Program at Writer’s House, however, the jump from one to another was not so difficult. He first took a job at the Writer’s House as a means to support himself while writing plays. It wasn’t before long though that Mejias found himself taking on more and more responsibilities: “Little by little, being in the thick of interest, my responsibilities grew and I began to initiate projects for myself.”
Mejias’ goals for the next five to ten years include “developing Latino voices…I want my list to be comprised primarily of Latino and African-American writers.” One of his methods include his reading series, which take place from October through June. Mejias proudly states he “features pretty regularly new Latino voices.” Through this reading series, Mejias has assisted “writers get agents, published, and helped writers whose work has been passed on by editors and publishers a second chance.”
Mejias also states that in order to find Latino voices, “you have to actually recruit aggressively. If you want Latino writers, we are there. But you are not going to find us through traditional means. We cannot all afford the Writer’s Workshop in Iowa. We cannot all afford Columbia and to be part of the MFA programs there or NYU, but we are around. We are around.”