Vanessa Frances is an Orlando-based writer whose work blends the intimate and the uncanny, exploring what it means to be human in times of environmental and societal upheaval. A playwright, poet, screenwriter, and author, she crafts stories that merge realism with speculative and surreal elements, creating emotionally resonant narratives that sit at the edge of the familiar and the extraordinary.

Her award-winning stage play The Magic Castle Still Stands debuted at Orlando Fringe 2024, earning the Patron’s Pick Award, critical praise from Orlando Weekly, multiple sold-out performances, and a Best Actor win for lead performer Amelia Reed Bryant. The play was later acquired by the University of Manitoba for a February 2025 production run. Her follow-up work, Clingstone, premiered at Orlando Fringe FestN4 in January 2025, where it won Best Story and received acclaim from the Orlando Sentinel.

Vanessa’s screenwriting work includes And I Will Walk You Home, an upcoming film scheduled for a 2026 festival premiere and supported by Film Florida’s Emerging Filmmaker Fund. Her fiction publications include Through Neighboring Windows, a collection of 17 interconnected short stories set against the backdrop of climate and societal collapse, and Orange Island, her speculative debut novel released Spring 2026 from Red Rook Press, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press. Orange Island was also named to the 2025 Futurist Debut Book Award long list by The Coil Magazine.

A graduate of Penn State University with a B.A. in Journalism, Vanessa was a 2025 Key West Literary Seminar Writer in Residence. Her work is driven by a commitment to climate-focused storytelling, emotional truth, and a humanist voice across mediums.