Diana Botsford

I hold degrees in Screenwriting & Producing from Boston University, and Creative Writing from Seton Hill University.  Prior to joining Missouri State University, I spent 12 years in Los Angeles in the television and film industry, followed by 5 years developing streaming media content and community-driven websites for Microsoft. 

My production credits include writing, producing, and directing for a wide variety of series and films.  My screenwriting credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Spiral Zone, and a variety of children’s series for CBS, NBC and independent networks.  As a visual effects director, I had the opportunity to play techno junkie while telling people like George Clooney how to stand in front of a bluescreen.  I have also produced multiple series for television such as the CBS series Harts of the West and Nightgames.  

My theatrical credits include visual effects directing and supervision for a wide variety of films such as Nightmare of Elm Street VI, Tank Girl, From Dusk Til Dawn, Terminator 2 and many other independent films. As Associate Producer for D.I.C. Enterprises and then later as VP of Family Programming for Kushner-Locke, I produced over 1,000 half-hours of animation for television and film such as Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff, M*A*S*K Force, Spiral Zone, and the Columbia /Tristar film Pound Puppies & the Legend of Big Paw.  Here at MSU, I’ve served as Executive Producer on the Missouri State University Electronic Arts SF short Apollo which was a recent selection at the Athens, Greece International Science Fiction Film Festival.

My primary writing focus is on science fiction for a variety of mediums including books, film, television, theatre, and comics.  Currently, I am working with MSU students and colleagues to co-created two SF webseries.  I have written two Stargate: SG-1 novels: The Four Dragons and the soon-to-be released The Drift (Spring, 2012) for which I traveled to Antarctica for creative research. I also recently completed work on the SF novel Critical Past and the comic book series The Fracture. 

I often speak at various writers’ conferences and science fiction conventions and enjoy bringing students to these events so they may network with other writers, agents, publishers, etc.  I am the chair for the International Association of Media Tie-In Writer’s Young Adult Scribe Awards jury and am a full-ranking member of the professional Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.