Independent Writers' Caucus
Stephanie Bast
Stephanie Bast was abandoned in Korea, adopted by Italians and raised in a town so small and white, someone asked: “How are you gonna understand her when she starts speaking?” Fiercely loved and protected, she was taught to fear “the other” while knowing “the other” was herself. She started to write comedy to heal a wound. Now she writes to heal others, creating characters who think they’re not enough, desperate to prove they’re worthy of being saved.
Stephanie lives in Los Angeles and is named one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2025 by ISA, Roadmap’s Diversity Fellow, studied at UCLA extension and placed as a Finalist for Austin Film Festival, Final Draft’s Big Break, CineStory, PAGE and The Writers Lab winner. A Broadway and TV/Film actress in the time when presenting as Asian was a detriment, she has turned the pain of her race into a super power.
Stephanie writes for everyone who’s adopted.
She writes for everyone who hates looking in the mirror.
She writes for her children, so they may always love their eyes.
In a pinch, Stephanie can perform a reverse vasectomy.
Honors & Awards
ISA Top 25 Writers to Watch in 2025, AS I AM - 2025
AFF Finalist, AS I AM - 2023
Final Draft Big Break Top 10, WASH YOUR BIRDIE: 101 THINGS THAT CAN CRAWL UP YOUR VAGINA AND KILL YOU - 2022"
WGA
Female, BIPOC, Asian, Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander, Multi-Ethnic, 40+
AS I AM
Asian FLEABAG stuck in THE SOPRANOS family
A Korean adoptee raised by an Italian family dreams of becoming the next Carmela Soprano. But when her obsession fails, she must open the eyes she hates, to love the Asian she's refused to be.
WASH YOUR BIRDIE: 101 THINGS THAT CAN CRAWL UP YOUR VAGINA AND KILL YOU
PEN15 with a spurt of BIG MOUTH
A Catholic school virgin promises to please her mother and God, but when she leaves home for college she's taunted into her long-overdue sexual awakening by her own vagina - a cartoon bird named Birdie, who wants to please herself.
ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME
10 Things I Hate About You meets Crazy Rich Asians
A Korean adoptee with more white energy than the cast of Friends, is forced to partner with the Korean-American man she bullied in grade school who must transform her into a ""real Asian” in order to land the K-Beauty account that can save her father’s company.
Character-driven, Female-centric, BIPOC-centric, Coming-of-Age, Snarky
Female, BIPOC, Asian, Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander, Multi-Ethnic, 40+
unrepped