I founded the Story Incubator because I believe that everyone has a story to tell—and that better storytelling will bring about a better world. I work with writers, filmmakers, and CEOs to craft stories that can bring us together in the service of a happier future for all.
“If you’re going to have a story, have a big story or none at all.” —Joseph Campbell
Erin O’Connor, PhD
Nothing makes me happier than helping storytellers figure out what they want to say and how to get it said. There is a moment when the ideas come together and the language is found—when the story hatches—that is absolute magic. To see another person light up when they comprehend their story fully for the first time—and to guide them through the scratchy, hard work of bringing that story into being—that’s my thing.
Before launching TheStoryIncubator.com, I was chief creative officer at the Moving Picture Institute, a nonprofit film production house. While at MPI, I produced the Webby-winning We the Internet TV and numerous award-winning documentaries and narrative shorts. I also worked with dozens of rising screenwriters, directors, editors, producers, and documentary filmmakers as they honed their craft.
Along the way I wrote the the award-winning film Miss Virginia. Starring Emmy-winner Uzo Aduba, Matthew Modine, Vanessa Williams, and Niles Fitch, the film tells the true story of a struggling single mother who will stop at nothing to ensure that her son gets a good education. Miss Virginia has been called “timeless” and “inspirational.”
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Stories can do anything. They can solve our problems, heal our wounds, and make us whole again. Stories can bring us together,
lifting us up with a shared, common purpose
. They can make the world a better, happier place — if we let them.
”
—Erin O’Connor
I hold a BA in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in English from the University of Michigan. From 1995 to 2008, I was a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, where I worked with hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. My book, Raw Material: Producing Pathology in Victorian Culture, has been described as “complex,” “empirically rich,” and “first-rate.”