James Gain (MA ’12) earned his B.A. in film and television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2001 and has a background in screenwriting and fiction. His concentration at Gallatin was young adult literature and publishing with a focus on adaptation for the screen.
His artistic thesis was a young adult historical novel set in 1692, which revolves around a group of children battling a 250-year-old curse that originated with a victim of the Salem witch trials. He also wrote a research essay, “Unifying the Narrative Arc in Fiction—An Analysis of Suspense and Tension,” which explored the relationship between suspense and tension in prose and the role it plays in unifying individual scenes to the overall plot.
Gain’s coursework ranged across the university, including courses in publishing, young adult literature and fiction workshops. He also organized the Graduate Writing Social Group, which evolved into a weekly writer’s workshop for fiction, screenplays and poetry. Gallatin awarded Gain the Special Service Award for his contributions to the university and his role in creating community. Gain is adapting his novel for the screen, and he is working on several other projects and scripts, including a noir Western called You Love Me, and a dark comedy about the late coming of age of a young professional titled The Property Manager.
