Phyllis MacBryde began her career as a theater actor - from Circle in the Square in New York to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., national tours and scrappy summer stock - and branched into writing. She has successfully collaborated on original musicals with composer, Roger Bartlett. In 1999, she was a finalist for the Academy of Motion Pictures' Nicholl Fellowship (1999) for her screenplay "Zinzi," and was selected for Montage Entertainment's Diversity in Screenwriting Award and developmental workshop sponsored by HBO. Encouraged, she set to work on a novel of the Zinzi story. An early draft of the novel was selected as a top five finalist for the William Faulkner - William Wisdom Award. She is represented by literary agent, Lynn Franklin.