Amanda Graham
Person by Amanda Graham
TV comedy writer, cult survivor, public speaker, neurodivergence advocate, lover of ketchup and now a new author.
About
Amanda’s past work includes writing 23 eps of AppleTV/BBC TV and editing, ghostwriting, and punching up scripts and pitch decks for 90+ film and TV development projects including for the BBC, Channel 4, and Zero Gravity Group. She’s currently ghostw...
Amanda’s past work includes writing 23 eps of AppleTV/BBC TV and editing, ghostwriting, and punching up scripts and pitch decks for 90+ film and TV development projects including for the BBC, Channel 4, and Zero Gravity Group. She’s currently ghostwriting a film adaptation of a best-selling romantic comedy novel for an American production company. She has multiple projects in development with comedy director Tristram Shapeero, Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair, BAFTA-nominated indie Visionality, and Estonian television writer Leana Jalukse. She also has three animation and book projects in partnership with Disney and Cartoon Network animating legend Travis Blaise and his studio Sketch2Animate. Her award-winning public speaking career spreads across the industry including the BFI, Industry & Baltic Events Tallinn, The Writer’s Guild, NFTS, WFTV, and film schools and festivals across Europe. Amanda is also a disability consultant for television programming. She’s also the host of The Institute of Neurodiversity’s new podcast, Neuro Disruptors. Her self-help book Good Stuff to Read When You’re About to Lose Your Shit has just been published on May 31st. Amanda is a BAFTA Connect Member, a TAPStar, was selected for BFI / BAFTA Crew 2021, and Ed TV Fest’s Ones to Watch 2018-2019. She’s a full member of the WGGB.
What Matters
Amanda loves exercise but jokes she's better at faking it than doing it.
Amanda loves plants: "They give us oxygen and they're just wonderful."
Coffee matters to Amanda: "I drink about a liter of coffee a day."
Amanda says dogs are everything.
Cheese is one of Amanda's favorites.
Writing matters to Amanda: "I can't stop, it's my favorite way of communicating."
Amanda is passionate about Neapolitan pizza: "Neopolitan Pizza for the win. Absolutely the best."
Amanda says creativity matters "a hundred percent" because "you need creativity for solutions to get out of problems, for ways to come up with collaborations... to make the best of your gifts."
Storytelling is the basis of everything Amanda does professionally.
Amanda believes comedy matters: "If you can't laugh, then you are going to cry all the time, every day."
Amanda says neurodiversity matters and stresses the importance of acceptance: "We need to focus on what we have in common instead of the divisions."
Whys (11)
Amanda loves plants: "They give us oxygen and they're just wonderful."
Does PLANT matter to you?
Coffee matters to Amanda: "I drink about a liter of coffee a day."
Does COFFEE matter to you?
Amanda loves exercise but jokes she's better at faking it than doing it.
Does PHYSICAL EXERCISE matter to you?
Amanda is passionate about Neapolitan pizza: "Neopolitan Pizza for the win. Absolutely the best."
Does PIZZA matter to you?
Writing matters to Amanda: "I can't stop, it's my favorite way of communicating."
Does WRITING matter to you?
Amanda says neurodiversity matters and stresses the importance of acceptance: "We need to focus on what we have in common instead of the divisions."
Does NEURODIVERSITY matter to you?
Amanda believes comedy matters: "If you can't laugh, then you are going to cry all the time, every day."
Does COMEDY matter to you?
Storytelling is the basis of everything Amanda does professionally.
Does STORYTELLING matter to you?
Amanda says creativity matters "a hundred percent" because "you need creativity for solutions to get out of problems, for ways to come up with collaborations... to make the best of your gifts."
Does CREATIVITY matter to you?
Takeaways (13)
I want people in crisis to know there are dots connecting, even if you can't see them yet.
I realized I kept making bad choices because I hadn't dealt with what was going on inside me.
I spent twelve years failing and starting over, and that's actually what built me into who I am.
You can keep making new decisions, but nothing changes until you figure out why you keep making the old ones.
I had to get real about my childhood stuff before any decision I made actually stuck.
When Steve Jobs said it only makes sense after, I was furious — that doesn't help me now.
I just want people in crisis to know the dots are there, even if you can't see them yet.
Once I got honest about who I actually was, things started moving in ways I didn't expect.
Desperation made me try things I never would have tried otherwise, and that changed everything.
The childhood stuff I hadn't dealt with was quietly running every decision I made.
I kept trying to fix the outside stuff, but the real problem was always on the inside.
I had no money, no heat, no help, and someone was telling me the answers come later.
I was in crisis and Steve Jobs told me to wait and see. I was furious.