More about me

Oritte Bendory

Screenwriter. Author. Writing Coach. Storyteller.

I've spent my career telling stories across film, television, fiction, and essays.

My science fiction short story, CARECROW: HER BETTER SELF, about mom-clone caregivers, was acquired in a preemptive deal by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners, with Circle of Confusion producing. I've also sold screenplays to Canal Plus, Fox-Asia, and Twentieth Century Fox, including a thriller produced by Chernin Entertainment with director Luke Greenfield attached.

Most recently, my adaptation of the bestselling novel How I Lost You, a psychological thriller exploring postpartum depression, premiered on Lifetime in March 2026. My film THE BOY WITH MY SON'S FACE is available on Prime Video.

Alongside my screenwriting, I'm an author, ghostwriter, and writing coach. I recently completed a ghostwritten novel and work with writers to develop their stories, strengthen their voices, and bring their projects to life.

I grew up in New Jersey, the middle child of three daughters of Israeli immigrants, and studied Fine Arts and Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. After graduation, I moved to New York City, where I studied filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, produced independent films, and played drums in a downtown rock band. My career has also included working as an executive producer in advertising before turning my focus to screenwriting — and to finally becoming a mother.

Back in New York, I created The Cougel Chronicles: Tales of a Jewish Cougar, a popular humor blog. My personal essays have appeared in The Huffington Post, Simon & Schuster's Live and Let Love: Notes from Extraordinary Women, and Midlife on Fire, an anthology about women navigating midlife.

Whether I'm writing a screenplay, a novel, or helping another writer find the heart of a story, I'm drawn to complex characters, complicated relationships, and the choices that shape who we become.