Lara's creative and academic work centers on disability representation, LGBTQ+ experiences, and inclusive storytelling across fiction, screenwriting, and education.
Lara holds a PhD in education with an emphasis in disability studies from Chapman University and an MFA in screenwriting with Distinction from California State University, Northridge. She completed her undergraduate degree in film studies with a minor in disability studies from UC Berkeley. When she's not doing freelance work or teaching, she can be found reading from her never-ending stack of books, rewatching her favorite TV shows, or hanging out with her dogs, Bailey and Lizzy.
She was a 2022 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow at the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, a 2022 Mentorship Matters TV Writing Program finalist, and a 2022 NBC Launch TV Writing Program finalist. She was selected as a 2023 screenwriting mentee in the 1in4 Coalition's mentorship program for disabled screenwriters.
Lara is also an online writing instructor with Women on Writing and offers sensitivity/authenticity reading, manuscript consultations, and developmental editing services.
2022 Lambda Literary Fellow
NBC Launch TV Writing Finalist
Women on Writing Instructor
Published in Journals
Lara's Writing
From short fiction and screenwriting to novels and anthology contributions, Lara's work spans fantasy, thriller, speculative fiction, young adult fiction, and contemporary stories.
Her published fiction has appeared in outlets including Flash Fiction Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, Hairstreak Butterfly Review, Disabled Voices Anthology, and Jaded Ibis Press. She is also a contributor to Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection.
Editing and Consulting
Lara offers professional editorial and consulting services for writers.
Services include...
sensitivity and authenticity reading
developmental editing
one-on-one Zoom consultations
Services focus on disability representation, LGBTQ+ representation, and other aspects of marginalized identity. She works with novels, screenplays, television pilots, memoir, and nonfiction projects.
Teaching and Speaking
Lara is an experienced educator, speaker, and workshop instructor.
She teaches writing courses through Women on Writing and regularly speaks on topics including...
disability representation
accessibility in publishing
LGBTQ+ storytelling
screenwriting
short fiction publishing
Her presentations have appeared at WriteHive, the Women Who Submit Conference, California State University, Northridge, and other educational and industry events.