About Us
Writer and peace worker Rachel Astarte Piccione is the president and founder of gentlefish productions, inc., a full-service writing company devoted to promoting positive and sustainable change in the world. Primarily a journalist and fiction writer, Rachel was also the 1996 Poet Laureate of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her first non-fiction book, 101 Better Sex Tips was published in July 2007.
She holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston and has studied Theater and Acting at Loughborough University (UK) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
From 1999–2001, she was the head writer for and performer in the New York City-based comedic theater company, Circle in the Squirrel. She was also the co-founder and Executive Creative Director of Bardos Films, Inc., a company dedicated to uniting cultures through the globalization of cinema from 2001-2004. Currently, she works as a voice-over artist for radio, television, film, and the Internet.
Rachel's international work has centered on the promotion of cultural unity through the performing arts. Her feature script, "Little India," was a semi-finalist in the 2006 American Screenwriting Competition and a 2006 Gloria Film Festival Screenplay Competition selection. In December 2006, her one-act play, "Middle East Side," had its premiere reading at SALAAM Theater in New York City.
Rachel has also been an adjunct professor of writing at a number of east coast colleges, including Philadelphia University (formerly Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science), Bucks County Community College, and Emerson College.
Rachel is an ordained clergy member, holding the title of Peace Counselor since September 2002. As part of her ongoing peace work, Rachel has given numerous readings across the country, and lectured at such venues as New York City's New School on the topic of employing the arts as a means toward conflict resolution.
As part of gentlefish productions' mission, Writing: A Spiritual Practice was created in 2009 to help build a community of writers whose work is more than a craft, but a calling. It is a place to honor the writer's path, regardless of how far along that path the writer is.
Rachel lives in New York City with her husband, Paul, and two very loving cats.
Event Locations
New York City
1133 Broadway, Suite 1107
New York, NY 10010
212.260.6064
Nyack, NY
52 Gedney Street, Ground Floor
Nyack, NY 10960
Hours
By appointment and by workshop/seminar schedule
Prices
Writers' Circles
FREE. Suggested donation*: $10-20
Workshops
FREE. Suggested donation*: $5-10/workshop
Individual Sessions
$50/hour
* Helps cover space rental and/or materials
