Ignacio B. Peña is a writer, a film animator, and a full-time nerd.
Ignacio was born and raised in Los Angeles. He left the United States in his mid-twenties to work as an animator for New Zealand-based Weta Digital. Since he began his career in animation, he has worked on some of the world’s most exceptional blockbuster films, from Avatar and Life of Pi to the Hobbit trilogy.
While animating, Ignacio discovered a passion for writing. His first story was published in January of 2015, and encouraged him to explore this passion further. He was accepted to attend the highly competitive Creative Writing program at The University of Edinburgh in 2015, and moved to Scotland to dedicate himself fully to developing his writing. He graduated the Masters program with distinction in November of 2016.
Several of his stories have now been published by a variety of international outlets. In 2016, he was also selected by UNESCO City of Literature as one of Edinburgh’s emerging new talent, and was invited to read his work at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. He has recently completed a novella, and is seeking a publication home for this work.
He enjoys writing stories that are quiet character studies. To him, fiction is at its best when strangers can come to an understanding of one another through the written word, and hopes that through his stories, a valuable and lasting human connection can be made.
Ignacio B. Peña now splits his time between feature-film animation and creative writing. He continues to write short stories and is now at work writing his first novel.