Austin McConnell
Gregory Austin McConnell (born February 15, 1990) is an American film writer, director and actor. He is the writer, director, and co-star of the science-fiction film Sprouting Orchids (2014). He also owns Missing Mozart Publishing, the publishing company behind his only book, Fallen Angels: Welcome To Munich (2009).
Life and career
McConnell was born in Springfield, Missouri. Before working in feature films, he won several international awards for his short films and received acclaim for his participation in the SATO 48 film challenge.
In 2010, McConnell was the executive producer of the web series LG15: Outbreak. He worked alongside EQAL for several months to release the series online as a part of their program 'The Show Is Yours'.
McConnell wrote, directed, produced, and performed one of the two main roles for his independent science fiction film Sprouting Orchids; The film was in festival circulation in early 2014, but never got a distribution deal.
McConnell is also a preacher for the Church of Christ, and has a personal YouTube channel on which he posts video essays on various topics including reflection and criticism on his previous work.
Filmography
* Syringe (short film) (2008)
* LG15: Outbreak (2010)
* Call It Something Special (short film) (2012)
* We Ain't Got No Windchimes (short film) (2013)
* Sprouting Orchids (2014)
Awards and nominations
SATO 48
;Syringe:
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Sound
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Male Performance
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Cinematography
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Director
;Call It Something Special:
* 2012 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2012 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Male Performance
;We Ain't Got No Windchimes:
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Art Direction
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Director
;This Veil of Tears:
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Film
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Art Direction
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Sound
Shorty Awards
* 2018 Shorty Awards: Best Breakout YouTuber - nominated
Bibliography
* Fallen Angels - Book 1: Welcome To Munich published by Missing Mozart Publishing
Missing Mozart Publishing
Missing Mozart Publishing is an independent publisher that published student-made books for some of the profit that was made from them. The writer would get a royalty check every month as the book sold. It is known for attempting to start a book called Fallen Angels, in which twenty one books were originally planned but only the first was published.
The Purchase
After entering a fiction writing contest in 2009, McConnell's first book, Welcome to Munich, was selected as a winner. As part of this contest, his book was published and released by local independent publishing company Missing Mozart Publishing to local bookstores in the Springfield, Missouri area in October of 2009. After the publishing of his book, the planned release of the second installment in the series was delayed while Missing Mozart Publishing went through restructuring, which eventually resulted in the company being dissolved. Despite the end of Missing Mozart Publishing, the book remained available online on Amazon in digital and print on demand versions. Towards the end of 2016, McConnell's YouTube channel austinmcconnell became quite popular, with thousands of subscribers and millions of minutes of views. As a result of this new success on YouTube and his fear of embarrassment from people discovering his early works, he attempted to contact the owners of Missing Mozart Publishing and have his book removed from online sales. He eventually found one of the original owners and purchased the company from them for $1 in order to be able to put the book out-of-print and remove it from online distribution. However, in response to a comment on his YouTube video describing these events that suggested he do a giveaway of the book once he reached enough subscribers, McConnell stated that at 500,000 subscribers he would "read the entire book in a livestream". As a result, McConnell later posted a video of himself reading the book, essentially as an audiobook.
Life and career
McConnell was born in Springfield, Missouri. Before working in feature films, he won several international awards for his short films and received acclaim for his participation in the SATO 48 film challenge.
In 2010, McConnell was the executive producer of the web series LG15: Outbreak. He worked alongside EQAL for several months to release the series online as a part of their program 'The Show Is Yours'.
McConnell wrote, directed, produced, and performed one of the two main roles for his independent science fiction film Sprouting Orchids; The film was in festival circulation in early 2014, but never got a distribution deal.
McConnell is also a preacher for the Church of Christ, and has a personal YouTube channel on which he posts video essays on various topics including reflection and criticism on his previous work.
Filmography
* Syringe (short film) (2008)
* LG15: Outbreak (2010)
* Call It Something Special (short film) (2012)
* We Ain't Got No Windchimes (short film) (2013)
* Sprouting Orchids (2014)
Awards and nominations
SATO 48
;Syringe:
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Sound
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Male Performance
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Cinematography
* 2008 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Director
;Call It Something Special:
* 2012 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2012 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Male Performance
;We Ain't Got No Windchimes:
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Art Direction
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Editing
* 2013 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Director
;This Veil of Tears:
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Film
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Art Direction
* 2014 SATO 48 Film Challenge: Best Sound
Shorty Awards
* 2018 Shorty Awards: Best Breakout YouTuber - nominated
Bibliography
* Fallen Angels - Book 1: Welcome To Munich published by Missing Mozart Publishing
Missing Mozart Publishing
Missing Mozart Publishing is an independent publisher that published student-made books for some of the profit that was made from them. The writer would get a royalty check every month as the book sold. It is known for attempting to start a book called Fallen Angels, in which twenty one books were originally planned but only the first was published.
The Purchase
After entering a fiction writing contest in 2009, McConnell's first book, Welcome to Munich, was selected as a winner. As part of this contest, his book was published and released by local independent publishing company Missing Mozart Publishing to local bookstores in the Springfield, Missouri area in October of 2009. After the publishing of his book, the planned release of the second installment in the series was delayed while Missing Mozart Publishing went through restructuring, which eventually resulted in the company being dissolved. Despite the end of Missing Mozart Publishing, the book remained available online on Amazon in digital and print on demand versions. Towards the end of 2016, McConnell's YouTube channel austinmcconnell became quite popular, with thousands of subscribers and millions of minutes of views. As a result of this new success on YouTube and his fear of embarrassment from people discovering his early works, he attempted to contact the owners of Missing Mozart Publishing and have his book removed from online sales. He eventually found one of the original owners and purchased the company from them for $1 in order to be able to put the book out-of-print and remove it from online distribution. However, in response to a comment on his YouTube video describing these events that suggested he do a giveaway of the book once he reached enough subscribers, McConnell stated that at 500,000 subscribers he would "read the entire book in a livestream". As a result, McConnell later posted a video of himself reading the book, essentially as an audiobook.
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