Independent Writers' Caucus
Leon Masters
Leon Masters is a gay transgender man whose writing fuses the othering of supernatural creatures and real-world horrors to explore issues facing transgender and other marginalized folks. Raised in the proudly weird, small central coast hippie-town and former Murder Capital of the World, Santa Cruz, California, he developed an off-beat sense of humor when it comes to tackling serious issues, and is heavily influenced by his background where cults, ghost-hunts and séances felt like the norm.
Leon has a background in fine arts, photography, and design. After undergrad, he worked for on several short videos, live events, and film volunteer projects in multiple capacities in the Bay Area. He also independently created a short film and an experimental no-budget feature as director, co-writer, producer, and actor.
He earned an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. He writes crime thriller, supernatural horror, and science fiction features, teleplays, podcasts, and shorts.
Leon was a Roadmap Writers Diversity Fellowship Runner-Up and a Transgender Film Center Fellowship finalist. He is a lead team member of the Pre-Rainbow Pages where he works to help build community with and uplift fellow queer writers.
Honors & Awards
Winner, Roadmap Writers Podcasting Competition – OUT OF THE MIST – 2024
Finalist, Hollyshorts – DEAD DAUGHTER - 2024
Winner, Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices – PERDITION – 2021
non-WGA/Caucus Only
Male, Non-binary, Trans, LGBTQ+, 40+
NZR – NATIONAL ZOMBIE REGISTRY
(Science Fiction Crime Thriller - THE LAST OF US meets THE KILLING)
In a world where zombies casually walk among us, the chief of the zombie disposable task force spirals into a bizarre murder investigation that threatens to out him and possibly ruin his life after he stumbles across the murder of a transgender woman.
PERDITION
(Supernatural Mystery Crime Thriller - SUPERNATURAL meets TWIN PEAKS)
The fallen Angel of Mysteries and current private investigator agrees to find a reformed-demon’s human wife, but that plan is paused when the case unveils the existence of hundreds of unsolved supernatural crimes tied to the town she disappeared in.
BAD MEDICINE
(Crime Thriller - BLUE VELVET meets INSOMNIA)
A disgraced San Francisco homicide detective travels to a sleepy East Coast town for a chance to rethink his life and ends up at the center of a bizarre series of gruesome murders.
Queer, Crime, Thriller, Procedural, Sci-Fi, Psychological, Horror, Coming-of-Age
Male, Non-binary, Trans, LGBTQ+, 40+
unrepped