Shaw Rocket Fund, Wattpad, and Shaftesbury Announce a New Narrative Podcast Project
After winning the Shaw Rocket Fund Accelerator Writing Contest, 18 year old Canadian writer, Loridee De Villa, will receive a 16-week mentorship program through Shaftesbury, culminating in the production of a 10 x 20-minute narrative podcast based on her winning story ‘The Infinite Worlds of Ella Jane’
TORONTO, October 16, 2020 – Shaw Rocket Fund, the largest private investor dedicated to Canadian children’s media, Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company and world’s leading social storytelling platform, and Shaftesbury, the award-winning production company behind the global hit TV series Murdoch Mysteries, and Life with Derek, today announced a new narrative podcast project. The project is the result of the inaugural Shaw Rocket Fund Accelerator Writing Contest from Shaw Rocket Fund and Wattpad, which asked writers to create inclusive stories for Canadian teens.
The aim of the grand-prize is to pair an emerging creative writer with the industry mentors needed to guide them throughout the creative process of creating a finished podcast. Shaftesbury will serve as the project’s first production partner and will lead the mentorship, working with winner Loridee De Villa across all aspects of production; including a five-day writer’s room, budget prep and logistics meetings, casting, and production/recording of the podcast. The mentorship program will also include an AV Extension, that will function as a docu-style ‘video diary’, and be shared across Shaw Rocket Fund, Shaftesbury Kids, and Wattpad channels.
In addition, all 10 of the contest’s finalists have each won virtual mentorships with Wattpad.
Selected from 284 entries and 10 finalists, ‘The Infinite Worlds of Ella Jane’ is a multi-dimensional journey, filled with excitement and mystery. The story explores what happens after Filipino-Canadian Ella Jane Flores wakes up on a mysterious train in another dimension. When she meets a young physicist, Ella discovers that the “Ella” of this new dimension has gone missing under mysterious circumstances, causing political uproar in the kingdom.
From driving industry innovation, to influencing the future of children’s media consumption, Shaw Rocket Fund leads the way in championing quality Canadian kids content across the world. “We’re always looking for ways to serve kids better with what we do,” said Agnes Augustin, President & CEO of Shaw Rocket Fund. “The importance of the Shaw Rocket Fund Accelerator Writing Contest is that it facilitates relatable stories for teens all across our country. We’re absolutely thrilled for our grand-prize winner and not only does this narrative podcast project allow us to support young talent in an innovative way and continue with the mentorship program during this time, but the collaboration of three global brands will ensure that diverse storytelling sits at the forefront of our industry.”
"Creating opportunities for writers to connect with readers and share their voice is foundational to what we do at Wattpad,” said Chris Stefanyk, Head of Brand Partnerships at Wattpad. “This podcast and collaboration represent a new way of tapping into the creativity we see on Wattpad all over Canada and around the world, bringing new stories and perspectives to new formats.”
“Our focus at Shaftesbury is on collaboration and we are always looking for new and exciting partnerships. We are so thrilled to be at the forefront of this amazing program, and to be able to bring together such esteemed organizations.” said Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, SVP Branded Entertainment, Shaftesbury.
“Shaftesbury Kids is so excited to work with Loridee on her amazing winning story, ‘The Infinite Worlds of Ella Jane’. We are honoured to be able to mentor and guide her throughout this process and provide her an enriching experience in the industry. We can’t wait to get started.” said Jennifer McCann, VP Kids & Family, Shaftesbury.
The Shaw Rocket Fund Accelerator Writing Contest’s narrative podcast prize represents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for emerging Canadian writers to gain valuable experience and guidance in the production world, as well as allowing all partners involved to support new talent in an innovative way. As the inaugural producing partner, Shaftesbury is able to magnify the scope of experience that the contest winner will be able to experience and bring a wealth of production and development knowledge to the program.
A full list of finalists and their entries can be found on the Shaw Rocket Fund profile (@RocketFund) on Wattpad.
###
About Shaw Rocket Fund
For over 20 years, Shaw Rocket Fund has been investing in Canadian-made, world-class media content for children and youth viewers. As a vital partner of the children’s media sector, Shaw Rocket Fund supports initiatives that reflect Canadian values and diversity, advocate for emerging talent in innovative ways, and drive the industry forward for all Canadian youth. The Rocket Fund invests in and supports Canadian-made media that reflects Canadian values and diversity, and most of all respects and speaks to children, while positively showcasing Canadian leadership on the world stage. By working with producers, regulators, and government, the Shaw Rocket Fund aims to make quality content for kids a global priority. Since its inception, the Shaw Rocket Fund has invested over $247 million in 1,007 Canadian media content for children, family, and youth audiences worldwide. www.rocketfund.ca
About Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is an award-winning creator and producer of original content for television, film, and digital. Shaftesbury's current slate includes 14 seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for CBC and UKTV, four seasons of detective drama Frankie Drake Mysteries for CBC and UKTV, three seasons of critically acclaimed horror series Slasher for Netflix, three seasons of Hudson & Rex for Citytv/Rogers Media, and several new primetime series including Departure for Global/Corus Entertainment and NBC Universal, Dead Still for RTÉ, Acorn TV, and Citytv/Rogers, and The Sounds for CBC, Acorn TV, and Sky NZ. Building on a library of award-winning kids’ programs, Shaftesbury has an extensive slate of new kids and family programming with series centred on inspiring interest in STEAM, including The Solutioneers, Miikshi, Stinky Science, and Emerald Code. Shaftesbury's branded division produces original entertainment projects for brands, including the global phenomenon Carmilla for U by Kotex/Kimberly-Clark, Turning the Tables for göt2b®/Henkel, Futurithmic for Nokia, and The D Cut for Dove and Unilever Studios. Shaftesbury’s technology division works with leading healthcare institutions and researchers to explore and develop clinical applications for immersive media experiences including augmented and virtual reality, including a recent focus on children’s therapeutic support tools. www.shaftesbury.ca
About Wattpad
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Wattpad’s flagship app is the world’s leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 90 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to discover stand-out stories among the nearly one billion uploads that have been written on the platform. Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films and TV shows. Wattpad Brand Partnerships help brands build deep engagement with Gen Z consumers. In 2020, Wattpad was recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at company.wattpad.com.