About

Jonathan LaPoma is a 160x award-winning and optioned screenwriter, Kirkus/Barnes & Noble-recommended novelist, songwriter, poet, and voice actor. Alexandra Maramenides of the Rêve Agency represents his screenplays. Jonathan LaPoma earned a BA in history and secondary education from SUNY Geneseo in 2005. Shortly after graduating, he embarked on extensive, transformative travels throughout the United States and Mexico.

These raw external journeys profoundly forged his creative voice. Furthermore, a decade of intense internal isolation spent overcoming crippling OCD expanded his vision. He translated this existential friction into a massive, interconnected catalog. This library contains five novels, fifteen screenplays, and hundreds of songs and poems. Consequently, the multi-disciplinary writing of Jonathan LaPoma explores themes of alienation and misery as human constructions that can be overcome through self-understanding and the acceptance of suffering. To explore his musical works, visitors can view his official The Crooked East website.

HOLLYWOOD FILM ATTACHMENTS

As an elite screenwriter, LaPoma’s fifteen screenplays have won over 160 international awards and honors. Veteran producer Warren Zide optioned his dark comedy script “Harm for the Holidays” alongside Wexlfish Pictures (American Pie, Final Destination) in 2017. Additionally, LaPoma served as a featured speaker for the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild, worked as an official jury member for international film festivals in San Diego and Cordoba, and his poetry and prose has appeared in 34thParallel Magazine and TODAY & YESTERDAY.

Award-winning producer Byron A. Martin is attached to LaPoma’s script, La Tierra Que Yo Amo (Land that I Love). Martin’s extensive resume includes major studio projects for Disney, Sony, and Universal. LaPoma has held memberships in The Authors Guild and Gotham Ghostwriters.

BESTSELLING NOVELS AND LITERARY RECOGNITION

Almendro Arts proudly publishes LaPoma’s bestselling novels: Hammond, The Summer of Crud, Understanding the Alacrán, Developing Minds: An American Ghost Story, and The Soul City Salvation. Four of his books have earned official recommendations from Kirkus Reviews. Furthermore, his work reached #1 on Amazon Bestseller lists across the USA, Canada, and Australia. These titles also captured top honors at the Eric Hoffer Book Awards and the Stargazer Literary Prizes.

As a prominent literary figure, Jonathan LaPoma’s career achievements are permanently codified in the institutional record Gale’s Contemporary Authors (Vol. 391). His novels are preserved globally in elite academic archives and national collections, including the Library of Congress (LCCN: 2019937723), University College London (UCL—a World Top 10 Elite Research University), and the Zentralbibliothek Zürich in Switzerland, as well as the permanent collections of the Los Angeles Public Library, Dallas Public Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Northlake Public Library District (IL).

On the international stage, his work achieved exposure at the historic Frankfurt Book Fair via the Combined Book Exhibit. Major broadcast networks, including WIBC Radio Indianapolis and WTMJ Radio Milwaukee, have featured LaPoma for deep-dive interviews discussing his novel, Developing Minds, along with national education policies. Additionally, bookstores such as the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore and Warwick’s in La Jolla have hosted Jonathan LaPoma for exclusive author events.

SYNC-READY CINEMATIC MUSIC

Now based in Mexico City, LaPoma operates as the founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the cinematic art-rock project The Crooked East. This sonic extension has earned critical acclaim from premier indie music tastemakers like Glide Magazine, validating the project’s gritty, narrative-driven post-punk sound.

Utilizing his signature “Screenwriter’s Ear,” Jonathan LaPoma designs and structures the band’s tracks as “Aural Three-Act Plays.” Therefore, the project delivers atmospheric noir soundscapes engineered specifically for high-tier film and television sync licensing (A24, HBO, Netflix, Hulu). Market performance metrics confirm elite audience engagement highlighted by an active 15% Shazam-to-Play discovery ratio and over 10,000 organic global video creations. Backed by verified international radio rotation across Europe, Mexico, and Africa (Onda Inclusiva, El Rocanrosaurio, BoomRadio), the latest catalog breakout flight cleared 152,000+ views in 48 hours with a peak 1.65% off-platform CTR in the target 35–44 sync demographic. Almendro Arts manages all catalog assets with 100% “One-Stop” clearance.

INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY CONSULTATION AND VOICE WORK

Finally, Jonathan LaPoma acts as an accomplished voice actor and international screenplay consultant. He has dubbed multiple feature films, commercials, and Netflix series in English. He served as the script doctor for the high-profile bicultural film project “Chinese Tequila” for executive producer Carlos Bravo and executed critical screenplay polish work for the independent feature “Montreal Girls” alongside award-winning producer Byron A. Martin. Additionally, he served as a co-writer and development script consultant for the film project “¡Vamos, Emilio!” for creator Juan Grey. He also translated and wrote the official English subtitles for the acclaimed feature-length documentary ENTRE TIERRAS.

To download all five of his novels along with his entire music catalog, click the button below.

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