March 2022
2022 is set to be a busy year for House of Stories! In addition to our regularly scheduled work consulting on a number of features and TV projects, Nikki is pleased to be penning the feature film Dirty June. The project is funded by Telefilm Canada, and is set to be directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer & Dusty Mancinelli (Violation, 2020). She also spent 2021 completing a course on Jungian Psychotherapy and Active Imagination at the Zur Institute, and is currently working on further studies at the C.J Jung Institute of Chicago.
Many of you have been writing to ask about Nikki’s next Advanced Screenwriting intensive. Make sure you’re signed up for our mailing list to be among the first to know when enrolment opens.
Jan 2021
June 2020
Congratulations to House of Stories workshop student and winner of the Amnon Buchbinder Story Prize, Mandeq Hassan, for advancing to the pitch phase of Netflix Canada’s nation-wide pitch day competition. Mandeq was selected to pitch the streaming giant out of approximately 10,000 applicants, and will receive ongoing mentorship from House of Stories. Bravo, Mandeq!
Coming Soon, a thriller about three movie-obsessed friends who try to track down a serial killer, is presenting at the Frontieres Market as part of the Cannes Film Festival. The screenplay is being written by Nikki Saltz & Ante Kovac.
March 2020
Congratulations to Wendy Litner on winning a CBC Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Web Program of Series for her heartfelt and hilarious work on How to Buy a Baby. Nikki Saltz was pleased to serve as a story editor on this wonderful series.
Feb 2020
House of Stories consultant Nikki Saltz congratulates comedy writer Elyse Friedman on winning the TIFF-CBC Screenwriter Award. Elyse’s script, “The Relationship Experiment,” was a joy to read, and it was an honour to serve on the jury for this prestigious award .
In March, 2020, Nikki will be a keynote speaker at the Women Making Waves Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She’ll be delivering a talk on writing female characters in the horror genre.
March 2019
Nikki will be serving as one of five script consultants for the 2019 TIFF Writers’ Studio. She will be working with two screenwriters on the development of their feature screenplays as part of an intensive five day lab at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Later in the month, Nikki will also be delivering a fireside artist talk on underworld mythology at the Drake Devonshire hotel in picturesque Prince Edward County . The talk is free to attend. Details can be found below:
Sunday March 24
3pm - 4pm
Drake Devonshire
24 Wharf Street, Wellington
Finally, House of Stories congratulates the team behind How To Buy A Baby on their International Emmy Award Nominations!
October 2018
Nikki is pleased to be invited to attend the Les Arcs Film Festival in France as part of Femme De Cinema.
Also happening this month, Nikki is pleased to be delivering an intensive story coaching session to the talented participants of the TIFF Writers’ Studio in Toronto.
Associate consultant Blain Watters is currently working for hire on two screenplays: Genesis 6 is going to camera in the fall of 2018 with Oscar Nominated Director Yan England at the helm. Not My Brother is a dramatic screenplay for feature director Jenna MacMillan about mental health issues and family with principal photography slated for fall 2019.
Haunters: the musical, a web series he’s written and directed, has won an award at the T.O. film fest for Best Ensemble and has been nominated in several categories for the upcoming International TV Webfest in Vermont. It is now available on many platforms from subscription based services like Revry in the US to Canada’s preeminent youtube channel, Shaftesbury’s KindaTv, and on festival channels like Stareable.
Sept 2018
House of Stories Founder Nikki Saltz is named the inaugural Micki Moore Screenwriter in Residence at TIFF. Nikki will be working with industry professionals at TIFF on a new draft of her feature screenplay, Work It. Nikki will be writing her script on a beautiful Olivetti Lettera 32 Typewriter, generously provided to her by Toronto Typewriters.
Other good news this month: The CBC Original Digital Series, How to Buy a Baby, written and created by Wendy Litner, will be going to camera on its second season later this year. Nikki Saltz was proud to have served as a story editor on season two of this heartfelt, hilarious series.
May 2018
Congratulations are in order for our client, Davida Aronovitch, whose project, Who What Clara, which went through several rounds of notes with House of Stories, has won one of five Telefilm New Voices Awards! Congratulations, Davida! We wish you every success at this year's Toronto Screenwriting Conference!
Also happening this month, Nikki will begin story editing two of the winners of the From Our Dark Side genre incubator. You can read more about the winners here!
April 2018
Nikki returns from Vancouver after giving a lecture on Horror, Mythology & Journeys to the underworld at WIFT-V .
About
Your story has
a home here.
At House of Stories, we strive to be a resource that writers can count on to get their stories closer to the full realization of truly meaningful work. We don’t believe that good story editing is about giving writers our opinions - anyone can do that.
Instead, House of Stories brings over a decade of studying script analysis, Story, screenwriting, mythology, folklore and archetypes to the table. We approach Story as a field of scientific study, which allows us to give our writers feedback that’s objective and actionable. We don’t offer prescriptive solutions, but instead, work with your story as a living being with its own unique path out of the muck, and towards the fulfilment of the story that you want to tell.
Each story editor at House of Stories brings a unique blend of formal training in Story and screenwriting, along with industry experience, writing awards, and produced works. Our consultants are continually working to raise the bar on their expertise, with yearly upgrading of their training and education in working with Story.
Consultants
Nikki Saltz, B.F.A, M.F.A, Screenwriting.
Founder & Story Editor
Nikki Saltz is a screenwriter and story editor based in Toronto, Canada. She is the founder of House of Stories and an alumnus of the Writers’ Lab at the prestigious Canadian Film Centre. Nikki has taught screenwriting and Story at Toronto Film School and York University, where she trained under leading story editor, Amnon Buchbinder. Nikki has served as a script consultant for the TIFF Writers’ Studio, a juror for the TIFF- CBC Screenwriter’s Award, and has lectured on Story and screenwriting across Canada. Most recently, Nikki was a story editor for the International Emmy award-wining CBC-Gem series, How to Buy a Baby. She is currently penning the screenplay for Coming Soon, a thriller produced by Clique Pictures (Riot Girls) and Scythia Films (The Witch). She is also pursuing a certificate in Jungian Myth and Story at the Zur Institute, and will be studying Greek Mythology at Oxford University in Sept. 2021.
Dan Sacco, M.F.A, Screenwriting, P.h.D, Film Theory.
In- house Genre Specialist
With a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies from Queen’s University, a Master’s Degree in Screenwriting from York University, and a PhD from Ryerson University, where he completed his first book on film censorship, Dan brings a wealth of knowledge to each project he approaches. He has written extensively on genre film, with a focus on horror and suspense, and has presented at the University of Guelph's Futurist Theory: Fear, Horror, and Terror(ism) conference. As a filmmaker, Dan has screened work in numerous festivals, and frequently works on film & television sets. In addition to being our in-house genre guru, Dan is currently working on his second book, and is a sociology instructor at Ryerson University.
Blain Watters, MFA Theatre
Blain has written comics for Feathertale Magazine, sketches for the Fauxhemians, and short films that opened in Milan and NYC. After graduating from the Canadian Film Center where he worked with Michael MacLennan, Avrum Jacobson, Mark McKinney amongst others, he won a Banff Fellowship from Shaw Media and landed in the Lost Girl room as Story Coordinator. He then worked as writer along side Michael McGowan on Roger/ Netflix’s Between, writing on three episodes as well as writing the web series. He also co-wrote the screenplay for Sleeping Giant, which premiered at Cannes as the only Canadian selection in “Critic’s week”, and was a hit at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. His Horror/Musical Web Series, Haunters, is currently airing on KindaTV. Blain's latest script, Genesis 6, is going to camera in the fall of 2018 with Oscar Nominated Director Yan England at the helm.
Contact
Contact Us
If you'd like to reach House of Stories to discuss working with one of our Script Consultants, or to inquire about upcoming workshops, please fill out our form, and we'll get back to you shortly!
Testimonials
"There are those who do work well and those who do work quickly, but precious few able to accomplish both . “House of Stories” is a standout in the precious few category. They not only provided a thorough assessment of my TV script’s strengths and weaknesses, but offered insightful story solutions that produced a substantially more polished piece. I would recommend “House of Stories” to any writer without hesitation. They're worth every reasonably priced penny."
-Annmarie Morais
Film & TV Writer, Killjoys, Haven, How She Move
"Notes from House of Stories on our feature were insightful, constructive and really helped us elevate the next draft of our script. Nikki brought a fresh, professional perspective to our story and while she challenged our soft spots she always remained a supportive cheerleader. If you're on the fence about hiring her, just get off it and pull the trigger. Your work will thank you."
- Dane Clark & Linsey Stewart, Mr. D, Bickford Park, I Put A Hit On You
“So often when I ask friends for feedback or when I've received notes from story editors, I feel like I'm trying to decipher what the "real problem" is based on their perceptions, or that they're trying to make it a different film from the one I'm trying to write. After my session with Nikki, I feel like I'm coming out of our meeting with some real tools and ideas for the next draft.”
-Brooke Banning, Writer, Canadian Film Centre Alumni