‘Shōgun’ Co-Creators to be Honored at 2024 Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Photographs of Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Courtesy of Katie Yu/Katarzyna Szloser/Austin Film Festival.

There are a great many reasons as to why people eagerly attend the Austin Film Festival every year. The obvious one being, they feature some amazing features. For so many creatives get to present their amazing work in front of an audience here and that’s just the beginning. Since there are also screenings of shorts and television pilots to be found, and of course… it is an amazing place to meet creatives and learn about what inspires them. Not to mention, this is also a festival that properly honors those that work in the industry.
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Because without the work of those professionals, there would be no film festivals, no creatives hoping to follow in the footsteps of the greats. Which is why it is important to honor them and their contributions and earlier today, it just so happens that the Austin Film Festival made it known which creatives will receive top honors this year at the 2024 Writers Conference. For Shōgun co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo will receive the 2024 Writer’s Writer Award and the 2024 New Voice Award, respectively, for their amazing work in the industry and well… to properly do this announcement justice, here are all the details on this magnificent news, courtesy of the Austin Film Festival.

‘AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF) announced today two awardees to be honored as part of its 31st Festival & Writers Conference happening October 24 – 31, 2024. The Writer’s Writer Award, introduced in 2023, honors a singular talent already recognized within the industry and by their peers, whose latest project has illustrated their versatility across mediums and elevated the trajectory of their career. The 2024 awardee is screenwriter, showrunner, and Shōgun co-creator Justin Marks. The inaugural Writer’s Writer Award was presented to Cord Jefferson in 2023 for his debut feature American Fiction, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Justin Marks is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and a television creator and executive producer.  

In feature film, Justin Marks was most recently a writer on the worldwide box-office hit film Top Gun: Maverick for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Paramount with Tom Cruise reprising his iconic role. The film has earned nearly $1.5 billion worldwide. Justin also wrote the Walt Disney Company’s hit film The Jungle Book directed by Jon Favreau and earned nearly $1 billion in worldwide box office. The cast included Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken and Ben Kingsley. A sequel is in development now. Recently, Justin was writing and producing Netflix’s animated musical The Prince of Port-au-Prince based on the life of Wyclef Jean. 

In television, Justin is the co-creator and showrunner of the FX epic series Shōgun based on the novel by James Clavell. Previously, Justin was the creator and showrunner of the Starz drama Counterpart that starred JK Simmons and ran for two seasons. 

Shōgun co-creator Rachel Kondo will receive the 2024 New Voice Award, which celebrates unique and captivating new voices in film, television, and new media. Past award recipients include So Young Shelly Yo (2023), Nikyatu Jusu (2022), Channing Godfrey Peoples (2021), and Catherine Reitman (2019). 
Rachel Kondo was born and raised on Maui. Her writing has appeared in Electric Literature, Ploughshares Solos and Indiana Review. In 2019, her story “Girl of Few Seasons” was included in The O. Henry Prize Stories and selected as a juror favorite by Elizabeth Strout. Along with Justin Marks, she co-created the FX television production of Shōgun adapted from the novel by James Clavell. She is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and now lives on Maui. 

At AFF’s Writers Conference, happening October 24 – 27, 2024, the pair will discuss their respective career paths and their success with celebrated new show Shōgun. 

Marks and Kondo join previously announced honorees Kathleen Kennedy, recipient of the 2024 Polly Platt Award for Producing, and Ronald D. Moore, recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Television Writer Award. 

Additional panelists at the Writers Conference will include: Marissa Jo Cerar, the creator of acclaimed miniseries Woman of the Movement and Black Cake, Tanya Saracho, creator of the critical darling Vida, Matt Selman, showrunner of The Simpsons, Craig Mazin, creator of prestige miniseries Chernobyl and The Last of Us, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, writers of A Quiet Place, Pamela Ribon, writer on Nimona, and Julie Plec, showrunner behind The Vampire Diaries universe. 

The Conference will present over 150 panels on the art, craft, and business of storytelling, featuring a slate of prominent industry professionals working in film, television, and new media. 

ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL & WRITERS CONFERENCE Entering its thirty-first year, Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television, theater, and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established storytellers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of The City of Austin Economic Development Department and Texas Commission on the Arts. The 31st Annual Austin Film Festival will take place October 24 – 31, 2024. All attendees and events are based on permitting schedules and are subject to change and/or cancellation without notice. Badges and passes are available for purchase online at www.austinfilmfestival.com or by phone at 1-800-310-FEST. 

ABOUT NEW VOICE AWARD 
Introduced in 2019, Austin Film Festival's New Voice Award honors unique and captivating new voices in film, television, and new media. Past award recipients include Nikyatu Jusu (2022), Channing Godfrey Peoples (2021), and Catherine Reitman (2019). 
 
ABOUT WRITER'S WRITER AWARD 
Introduced in 2023, Austin Film Festival's Writer's Writer Award honors honors a singular talent already recognized within the industry and by their peers, whose latest project has illustrated their versatility across mediums and elevated the trajectory of their career. The inaugural Writer’s Writer Award was presented to Cord Jefferson.’

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