Tonia Kempler Bio

Tonia Kempler lives in New York, though her roots run deep in a rural south still steeped in the occult traditions of the Gullah Geechee and the animism of the Cherokees.  Surrounded and empowered by the lore and practices of these supernatural cultures, Tonia leans toward macabre worlds with isolated, damaged, and yet intensely capable and empathic female leads. This personal connection drives her concentration on Supernatural Horror/Thrillers, including features, pilots, shorts and podcasts.

Her approach to storytelling and understanding audience engagement is fortified by a career in the Music Industry, including concert production and managing Grammy Award-winning producers, engineers and songwriters.

Tonia's undergraduate degree in Humanities with a minor in Fine Art from Oglethorpe University is supplemented by continuing education at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, The New York Academy of Art in New York, NYU, The New York Screenwriters Lab with Dylan Gary, The Academy of Film Writing with Max Adams, Gotham Writers and Story Farm with Max Timm.  She currently works with mentors and takes classes through Roadmap Writers.

Tonia is a reader for both the Austin Film Festival and The Cinestory Foundation, and she has taken industry reading courses with Beverly Neufeld.

Recent accomplishments include placement in Page Awards, The Austin Film Festival, The ScreenCraft Fellowship and WAN (Writers Assistants Network) among others.  

Tonia is an inspired Top Tier Roadmap Writer and an active 51/50 international workshop member with the Academy of Film Writing.