About us

Narrative Muse is a team of passionate book, movie and TV lovers determined to transform the media landscape! We elevate stories by and about women and gender diverse folk by curating them for other readers and watchers.

That’s why we created the Narrative Muse Matchmaker. People who use the matchmaker (we call ourselves ‘Musers’) are matched with the books, movies, and TV shows that fit their taste and identity.

As a purpose-led Aotearoa-based startup, our platform is working to build and strengthen connections between historically-excluded, local audiences and content producers. Our innovation is through learning about the qualities of books, movies, and TV shows that connect with these audiences – and we're doing this through the use of AI.

First, we’re building technology that helps audiences find content that represents them. Secondly, through these insights, we'll help local producers of books, movies and TV to grow their understanding of the needs of their audiences, supporting the resilience of our industry and bringing local content to the world.

Join the revolution!

When you sign up with Narrative Muse, you’re doing more than just discovering awesome book, movie, and TV recommendations. You’re supporting women and gender diverse storytellers, you’re telling content producers what you want to read and watch, AND you’re helping to create more of the stories you crave. 

In short, you’re changing the game. 

Together, we can transform the entertainment industry into one that supports women, trans folks, gender diverse artists, and non-binary storytellers from across the sexuality spectrum, with varying disability experiences, and from all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. 

Join Narrative Muse today and be part of the representation revolution.

You can learn more about us in this article here.

Meet our team

Say hi to Brough. She’s the original Narrative Muse instigator. She asks “why?” a lot and loves to get to the bottom of things. Conversations, musings, and stories are her favorite things. Once a film and TV editor, she’s now taking on the world with her vision to transform the entertainment landscape to be more intersectionally gender diverse. After being raised in the US, Brough lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Meet Teresa, co-founder of Narrative Muse. When she’s not using her brain cells for Narrative Muse communications and co-foundery things, she’s binge watching TV, screenwriting buddy-comedy movies, and thinking of names for the dog she dreams of having one day. Teresa is among the hordes of Americans who now call Wellington, New Zealand, home.

Dil is Head of People and Culture at Narrative Muse. She has held operational leadership roles across the New Zealand tech startup ecosystem and loves working her magic with people, data and operational efficiency. Dil was Co-Chair of TechWomenNZ and is StartupGenome Ambassador for NZ, as well as an advisor for women-led startups and NGOs. She was one of EY’s 2015 cohort of Entrepreneurial Winning Women. Random facts: Dil defines herself as a modern feminist. When she’s not working, she takes naps or plays with Doug, (Shih Tzu x Bichon Frise, we know you were wondering).

Jessie is Editorial Manager at Narrative Muse. She takes care of editorial systems and our contributors – and their excellent contributions. A fun-loving feminist, environmentalist and writer, Jessie grew up without a TV, so books are treasures and watching movies whenever she wants still feels like a treat. You’ll find her in Rome, Italy or Aotearoa / NZ.

Danna is the Stylistic Editor and Content Database Manager for Narrative Muse. Born in Montreal, Canada, they have an MA in English Literature from McGill University, where their research focused on literature of the sublime and the grotesque. They spend most of their time maniacally reading fiction of all genres, writing short stories, talking loudly about social justice issues, and going on picnics. They now work as an editor at an academic publishing house.

Atyia is an editor at Narrative Muse. She has degrees in French Literature and Health Science, which lend themselves to the fantastical scenarios she cooks up in the screenplays she writes. She’s a lover of films and can be found anticipating adventures at local cinemas. Atyia spends evenings working at the hospital or volunteering. During the day, she's a content developer at an educational publishing house in Toronto, Canada.

Shelbi is a Narrative Muse editor & copywriter and freelance writer based in North Carolina. Her money mainly goes to books and travel, with some set aside for supporting local musicians. She’s also working on her first book, in between daydreams about the next trip she hopes to take when it's safe – biking between towns in Eastern Europe!

Ed is the Product Lead for Narrative Muse. After stints as a pilot, flying instructor, entrepreneur and digital marketing expert, he now uses his marketing and technology savvy to coordinate and develop NM's platform, product, and overall look and feel. Working with good people and doing meaningful work is really important to him, as is good food, great friends and time spent outdoors.

Narrative Muse Contributors

Stephanie is pursuing a bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Creativity is her weapon and numbers and words are her passions. She spends her days solving equations and her nights reading and writing stories. She believes books and films have the power to bring people from all different backgrounds together. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she has always had two clear goals: to grow and learn as much as possible and to do something good for the world.

This is A.C.!  She’s an unofficial member of geekdom and loves board games, tabletop games, video games, mind games… just kidding. Or are we? A.C. has written a novel and a half and is hoping to be published, as the habit of writing is growing harder to shake. She lives in Interlaken, which is in rural upstate New York. Her heroes are her cat, Fiddle, and Captain Kathryn Janeway.

Aishwarya is a journalist and content creator from India. She is a lover of slow travel. Hiking in forests and crossing streams is what she dreams about while planning for a holiday. On days when she is not teaching journalism, she is found curled up with her Kindle or watching psycho-thrillers. She is passionate about trying new genres and knowing more about different cultures.

Meet Aisha. She’s an Aussie who loves to write and listen to music, 'cause words and music make everything better. When she’s not studying for her Communication degree or posting on her blog, you’ll find her reading, drinking good coffee, watching anything horror and consuming great food and wine (in no particular order).
 

Alana is a lover of poetry, peanut butter and punctuation (oh, and alliteration). She joined Narrative Muse because getting to read and watch empowering books and movies is hard work, but someone’s got to do it. She spent most of her childhood traveling in Europe and Asia because her parents were travel-crazed, but now she calls New Zealand home. 

Alice Rich is a freelance writer and a whole bunch of other things. She loves light and space art, libraries, fire spinning, slacklining, plants and the fact we're all made of stardust. She currently lives in Aotearoa / NZ and aspires to go nomadic.

Alice is currently a student of Publishing at Ryerson University in Toronto. She loves to travel and has lived in Glasgow, Seoul, and various parts of Canada. She would rate books, avocados, and tea 11/10. Swing dance is her passion and she can be seen doing the Charleston in random places such as the subway station, the shower, and occasionally a dance studio. 

Just south of Raglan, New Zealand, Amy lives in a bus and measures her life’s success by the amount of time she has to read and number of plants she grows from seed. She loves to write, eat, do yoga, read poetry and be in the trees or sea.

Bam (they/them) worked as Software Engineer at Narrative Muse. Bam is a developer, photographer, and children's bookseller. They believe books are for everyone. Bam's habits include the deconstruction of systematic oppressions, obstruction of gender, and using books to install anti-virus thought-ware on developing minds. When Bam isn't spinning python or javascript, they sell books about witches to children while playing them Sleater-Kinney.

Bre is currently living in Wellington, New Zealand and loving every minute of living in the middle of Middle Earth! She has a deep passion for traveling, journaling, movies, and books. Her travel bucket list is filled with places she's read about, yearning to be transported to the places the characters she loves live. She is so excited to be a part of the Narrative Muse team! 

Camilla is an educator, comedian, and aspiring screenwriter from the Bronx, New York. A natural born storyteller with a BA in English, her fondness for eccentricities shine through an authentic voice. Apart from performing at open mics around NYC and updating her blog, she can also be found dancing, eating, and spending time with family. 

Carl, father of three (mostly) delightful boys, loves to learn and wrestle with big ideas. He’s a massive nerd and will debate anything from which is the best Star Wars film (Empire obviously) to whether computers could ever be conscious (maaaaybe?). His love of movies, books, music, and technology has led him down a path of film and TV post-production, writing, acting, and now – back to school. The journey continues...

Chelsea is a librarian living in Auckland. She has always loved reading and as a child convinced everyone to call her ‘Ellie’, after her favorite character from Tomorrow, When the War Began. She reads widely but always comes back to the young adult genre, gritty fiction, and depressing nonfiction. Her dream life would be endless travel, owning her own bookstore, and bad dancing to 90s pop music. 

At Narrative Muse Christine is embracing the opportunity to indulge her first love: reading at the beach with a long black or favourite New Zealand wine. Christine is partner to Braden, mum to Georgia and Lachie, and BFF to Labradoodle, Lucy. She works for community and inclusiveness and, when not on marketing projects, is founder of Little Black Book NZ, a platform for women seeking recommendations from a trusted community.

Meet Ciara. She’s a community organizer, social justice advocate, and lover of nonfiction. She’s from Jacksonville, FL but lives in Brooklyn, NY. She’s passionate about working to elevate the voices of communities whose voices are otherwise not heard, watching movies and TV series, reading books that assist in her intercultural development, being outdoors, and having conversations with strangers! She hopes to share her southern charm and quirky personality in her pieces for Narrative Muse. 

Debbie is the Communications and Engagement Lead for Narrative Muse and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She loves movies, creativity, advocating for kindness, excellent takeout, yoga, GIFs, getting rush tickets for Broadway shows, reading on the Subway, and working in her community garden.

Ella is a writer/editor for Narrative Muse based in Toronto. Raised near Salem MA, known for its 19th century witch trials (it’s always Halloween there), she grew up with a love for history and all things fantastical – from classic fairytales to comic superhero/villain action (please, please never mention Suicide Squad). Her favorite films are by Studio Ghibli and her ultimate dream is to write a story deemed animation-worthy by Miyazaki himself.

Erin is an actor, writer and copy editor based in Auckland, New Zealand. Storytelling, in all forms, is her absolute passion. When she’s not at the theatre, she’s perusing Netfilx, doing yoga, playing DnD, or reading a good book with a glass of wine.

Ernest is an actor/ stand-up comedian/ writer/ stage manager from Cincinnati, Ohio. He has a BAC from Bowling Green State University. Ernest is passionate about the arts such as film, theatre, music, comedy and literature. He loves sports, especially basketball. Another passion of his is food (as should be everyone’s). So if you can cook, invite him round and he’ll come over. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Hanna writes stories for video games. She’s a fantasy geek, a story consultant and the occasional accidental author of non-fiction – including reviews for Narrative Muse. She likes traveling, baking, writing (a lot), making music, drinking tea, staying in and playing board games.

Jack Gabriel is an English teacher and writer currently in an unhealthy relationship with procrastination. He loves good games, bad movies, dad jokes and anything to do with monsters. Jack lives in Auckland with his wife and two cats, dividing his free time between writing, reading and drinking too much coffee.

Jack Holloway is a writer and musician living in Brooklyn, New York. While he spends most of his time engaging heady texts, he likes to read across genres, and he is a movie-lover, with a particular affinity for old, indie, and foreign films. Beyond movies and books, you could talk to Jack about the year’s best music, different kinds of beer, or even baking!

Jamillah loved reading and writing from a young age. As a young adult, she wrote poetry and would spend hours at bookstores. She is now a wife, mom of two and a full-time worker. In 2018 she wrote for an online magazine catering to a gaming community she is a part of. Jamillah speaks sarcasm fluently, likes to rock out with her fro out, feels like the crafty gene skipped her, but she tries anyway. She loves horror flicks, curling up with a nice cup of tea, and has a bohemian spirit.

This is Jenna. She manages the  New Zealand Time Out Bookstore (winner of the Bookseller of the Year at NZ Book Industry Awards 2016). She also is a freelance photographer with a BFA from the Dunedin School of Fine Art. Jenna lives in Auckland, NZ but will always call Dunedin home.

Say salut to Jenn. Dubbed Ms. MacGyver by her friends for her love of technology, problem solving, and travel. Jenn is a professional storyteller and sometimes kitten herder on a mission to unite science, social justice, and occasional purr fests. In her spare time she enjoys pretending to speak french and filming satirical youtube videos. During the rare times when she is not living out of a suitcase, Jenn considers the US her home. She currently lives in New York.

Meet Jess, a content curator for Narrative Muse. An analytical chemist and actress by trade, Jess likes to do things accurately and artistically. She is insatiably curious and is always trying something new, be it a crochet pattern, a new career or going on a solo adventure. Originally from Colorado, Jess now calls Wellington, New Zealand home.

Jess is a lifelong book and movie nerd. She likes her stories queer, political, funny, dark, feminist, and quirky. When she's not at work, Jess enjoys knitting, sewing, dinner parties, gin, plants, cheese, plotting elaborate schemes, and patting other people's dogs. Originally from Florida, she spent a few years wandering the globe before settling in Wellington, New Zealand.

Jules recently moved to Toronto from New Zealand to see how the other side of the world lives – apparently it is not that different. She is the social media guru and a film reviewer for Narrative Muse and gets beyond excited about anything muse-worthy. She can also connect any actress or actor to Meryl Streep in 6 degrees of separation – that’s a lot harder than you think.

Meet Kayla: A real Jane of all trades and master of none; she has gone from photography school to the military, to conservation work. Now she resides in Auckland, New Zealand, working in IT and teaching herself several programming languages. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Kayla started her own film club for women in Auckland before being introduced to Narrative Muse and joining the team. She loves being around other creative people and drinking copious amounts of cold brew coffee. 

Keren is a loud introvert who loves eating chocolates and ice cream. When she’s not napping or daydreaming, she likes to paint, read or binge watch short films and documentaries. She currently lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Meet Lakin, a book hoarder and coffee addict. She has a penchant for crime and thriller novels, and her guilty pleasure is rom-coms (of the paperback variety). Her goal in life is to have a floor to ceiling library (ladder included) in her house. She lives in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Laura is a book lover from Christchurch, Aotearoa / New Zealand who specialises in international law. She loves learning Spanish, yoga, and spending time in nature. Laura has spent a lot of time in Latin America and she's very eager to return one day!

Laura is a Promiscuous Reader and Book Club Slut who spends her time biking around looking for sidewalk cats and browsing bookstalls. She is obsessed with Donna Tartt and drinks her coffee black. Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, she lives in Cambridge UK.

Meet Madison, a reviewer for Narrative Muse, originally from Auckland, but currently in exile on Australia’s Gold Coast. She mostly spends her time wandering around out in the sun and wondering what to do with her BFA (apart from singing lounge covers of Robbie Williams and Nancy Sinatra). She has a passion for all things lyrical and lonely, like films directed by Sophia Coppola and Jane Campion, and books by Patti Smith, Ali Smith and Mary Gaitskill.

This is Maiko. She’s liked books since forever, which is how she ended up working in publishing. Her favorite author is now, and forever will be, Tamora Pierce (and not only because Prince Jonathan was her first book crush). She’ll read anything (unless it’s Austen) and especially loves folklore and myth. Her current addictions are radio-drama podcasts, movies starring Domhnall Gleeson and going for extravagantly long walks. She’s based in London and currently works for Hachette.

Born in Rome, Italy, Marialuisa is half Jamaican, half Italian, living in NYC – Upper West Side. She studied narrative folklore and storytelling at the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study and you'll find her at bookstores, museums, galleries, and especially libraries. She works as an events assistant at the New York Society Library, the oldest library in NYC and wants to travel the world collecting folktales. Her pride and joy is Winston, her Australian Shepherd forever pup.

Matthew is a comedy writer and theatre technician. When not rigging lights or penning chuckles he can be found binging content in all its myriad forms. With a degree in film and television you'd expect his favorite film to be something classy like 'The Godfather' and not 'Olympus Has Fallen' but you'd be wrong. 

Maulik is a sometimes actor, writer, and entrepreneur. He likes to put his nose in art that makes you lose track of time, especially if it's a comedy and/or romance. He is an agnostic film buff with a soft spot for indie films and web series. When he finds a spare moment from dislodging people's comfort zones without warning, Maulik can be found marveling at everyday relics of colonial racism – at any time of day or night.

Meet Melissa. She’s a recent Los Angeles transplant from New York City. She’ll charm you with sloppy musings about random ideas when she’s had enough alcohol; otherwise, she’ll force you into friendship with fierce intimidation and/or whining. She makes a living through the magical medium of video. She’s a hard core geek who spends more time inside fiction than reality. Ask about her Star Wars wedding and we’ll throw in more pictures than you can stomach!

Meet Micah.  She loves tea, travel, and history. When she’s not telling you about her favorite films and books, she’s acting, writing, and working on community projects in the hopes of empowering the voiceless and challenging them to change the world for the better. Originally from Virginia, Micah now lives in London, England.

Monika loves books, history podcasts, scary movies, and every dog she meets. She's always ready to talk about what she's been reading or what adventure she's planning next.  You'll usually find her working at a bookstore, exploring museums, or drinking a little too much coffee. Monika is based in the Toronto area, where she is studying Publishing at Ryerson University.

Nataliya is a curator at Narrative Muse, and loving it. Originally from Ukraine, she is a Christchurch-based theatre maker, playwright, ghost stories nerd and founder of NO Productions Theatre Company (New Zealand). With a PhD in Russian Studies, Master of Creative Writing degree and assorted qualifications in theatre, English and history, she dreams of building her own theatre guarded by marble lions and gargoyles.

Pam is a shy writer-researcher based in Cape Town, South Africa. Her accomplishments rank in order of importance: getting two cats, keeping them alive, taking credit for them keeping her alive. A bibliophile and hermit, she keeps much to herself and follows the visual arts like a twice-born art tartlet.

Rhean was a former editor in chief for Narrative Muse. Originally from Hawai’i, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she enjoys its fabulous food, quirky culture, and abundant sunshine. She’s a lifelong word nerd and completed her MFA in Fiction Writing. When she’s not wandering into bookstores or pondering the meaning of life, she’s dreaming up her next international travel adventure. On the short list right now: Okinawa, Santorini, and the Faroe Islands!

Meet Sam, he writes about wine by day and drinks it with the perfect movie pairing by night. He spent time freelancing on sets and made some short films – they were all about inanimate objects eating people. Hailing originally from the United States, he has spent most of his life in New Zealand, though has never shaken a blandly foreign accent. His life choices were all validated the night he saw Werner Herzog describe Nicolas Cage as the greatest human being alive.

Tabitha Rhys is the author of the novel Love, Music, Madness. When she isn’t writing or exploring with her toddler son, Tabitha is digging into the next book on her very long list. Gritty contemporaries and no-holds-barred memoirs have her heart, but every so often she craves a Dickensian epic. She is currently living her California dream in Riverside, CA.

Whitney’s a passionate high school English teacher and one of the few extroverts in existence who would rather be at home reading right now. She spent her childhood in Bangladesh but now she lives in a big ol’ house in Auckland filled with flatmates, cups of tea, and mismatched couches

Yvette has a penchant for pandas, pizza, and Doctor Who. She finds happiness in the pages of fantasy and picture-books and refuses to grow up. Her guilty pleasures are memoirs and true crime stories – because people really are fascinating. She can be found in Christchurch, NZ fighting a paper-war by day. Her nights are spent annoying her husband with talk of wanting to ride luck dragons dressed as a ninja while foisting books upon him.