Author · Screenwriter · Storyteller
“Don’t ever count me out.”
Michael Elliott is an Annapolis, Maryland–based author and screenwriter whose work centers on protagonists with firm identities and deep moral conviction.
About Michael
“I hold a Beast, an Angel and a Madman in me”.
Dylan Thomas
From an early age, Michael Elliott struggled with the inner conflict that his life was an on-going case of mistaken identity. Told he was half Italian, half American/ English he repeatedly felt uncomfortable in his own skin. When he was with his Mother’s family in Italy, he felt excepted, spoke the language fluently and walked the streets like a native son. Whenever he was with his Father’s family, he intuitively knew he was the black sheep, the odd man out. Finally in 2017, he discovered he wasn’t 50% Italian but 98%. An undergraduate English Lit major, with a MA in Communications from Penn State, he began his screenwriting career in 2020, determined to create characters true to their identities with an unshakeable moral center. Mike grew up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, MD where he continues to reside.
Featured screenplay · Award winner
Grand Prize Winner — Emerging Screenplays Action & Adventure Screenwriting Contest, 2026.
A decorated Vietnam combat vet, dealing with PTSD, defies the FBI and risks prison to help a notorious and wanted antiwar activist escape to Canada.
Selected work
Published fiction and screenplays available for development or future consideration.
Published novel · 2011
A political action thriller centered on Vietnam combat veteran Wayne Foltz and a community forced to confront fear, violence, and the collapse of public order.
Grand Prize Winner · Emerging Screenplays Action & Adventure · 2026
A decorated Vietnam combat vet, dealing with PTSD, defies the FBI and risks prison to help a notorious and wanted antiwar activist escape to Canada.
Comparable films: The Fugitive and Born on the Fourth of July
View screenplay detailsFinalist · Creative World Awards · 2026
When a stubborn 75-year-old man agrees to care for his lifetime first love now battling cancer, their rekindled romance forces them to confront the wreckage of decades while racing time to finally choose each other.
Comparable films: We Live in Time and Blue Valentine
View screenplay detailsFinalist · Pitch Now Contest · 2023
Seeking revenge on a white criminal gang, a Black homeowner lures them into a home invasion, attempting to disguise murder as self-defense.
Comparable films: Man on Fire and The Usual Suspects
View screenplay detailsSemiFinalist · Stage 32 Sci-Fantasy · 2025 & 2026
A teenager is unexpectedly transported from 1990 to 1967, where he becomes entangled in the world of hippies, the Vietnam War, and the paranormal, forcing him to confront his own destiny and the power of the past.
Comparable films: Stargate and Platoon
View screenplay detailsView all screenplays, including the future project Senior Center Assassin
Creative approach
“I specialize in protagonists whose inner strength is the firmness of their identities, bolstered by a deep moral center.”
Michael Elliott