Kay Kestner

screenwriter
Screenwriter and Author

Toms River, New Jersey

Member Since:
January 2022

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

Invites sent:
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About Kay

Kay Kestner is a neurodiverse screenwriter, poet, and prose writer. Born in NJ, she spent her teens and twenties in Virginia, later returning to NJ in her thirties. She considers herself a unique blend of Jersey girl and Southern woman. Her work is an unapologetic combination of gentle grace and raw reality.

Her screenplay, ART NEVER LIES, was a 2022 finalist in the Bigfoot in Collaboration with Trinity College Dublin Screenwriting Contest.

In 2022-2023, Kay’s screenplay, BEHIND HER REFLECTION, which aims to increase understanding and acceptance of autism placed in several competitions, including The Big Apple Film Festival and ReelHeART International Film Festival, among others.

Kay founded Screenwriting AccountAbility in 2024. This free-to-join group is an intergenerational network of women and nonbinary screenwriters helping each other set and achieve goals in a supportive and encouraging environment.

She is the founder and editor of Poetry Breakfast and has led writing workshops through the Ministry of Artistic Intent and at The New Jersey Poetry and Arts Barn where she was the Poet in Residence for two years. Her poems first appeared in literary journals in the early 1990s, and her poetry has since been published in seven countries.

In 2022, her most recent short story, “Pink Frosting,” which depicts the struggles of a single mother facing food insecurity, appeared in the Australian literary anthology, “Appointment at 10:30.”

Unique traits: Neurodiverse, Autistic

Gender:
Female

Badges

Photos

Loglines

Behind Her Reflection Budget: $100K - $1M | Drama When an anorexic cheerleader discovers she’s on the spectrum, she secretly joins an autism peer group and hides her diagnosis at school to keep her social status. But as her boyfriend’s manipulative behavior escalates, she must learn to be herself and embrace the help of her new neurodiverse friends.
LOVE'S RESCUE Budget: $0 - $100K | Drama At a high kill animal shelter an old mutt must find a way into the heart of a jaded divorcee if he is to survive.

Awards

Top 10 - TABLE READ MY SCREENPLAY GENRE SCREENPLAY COMPETITION SUMMER 2022
(2022)
SEMI-FINALIST - FILMMATIC DRAMA SCREENPLAY AWARDS SEASON 7
(2022)