Alumni Spotlight: Janae Hall


Janae Hall

Tell us about yourself. What do you do?

My name is Janae Hall, and I’m a TV writer, predominately writing for animated kids' shows.

What led you to this profession or why did you choose it?

I’ve loved cartoons for as long as I can remember, and from a very earlier age I knew I wanted to work in animated television. I also enjoyed fiction writing and storytelling when I was growing, but it wasn’t until college and getting to take an actual screenwriting class that I put two and two together and really discovered that writing for animated TV was what I wanted to do as a profession.

Still from animated show

What does a typical day look like at your job?

A typical day at my job is either one two things: Sitting in the writer’s room with my fellow writers riffing ideas off of each other and really collaborating to come up with cool story ideas, fun jokes, and whatever else random stuff we can think up OR spending the day alone with my laptop writing and working on either an outline or script that I need to meet my deadline on.

Laptop with script open on sunny balcony

What is a favorite project you have worked on and why?

My favorite project that I’ve worked on is actually something that is still secret since it hasn’t been announced yet. Shhh! But my second favorite project has got to be the Owl House. Who wouldn’t want to write stories that take place in the creepy, exciting, and always weird world of Bonesborough.

Poster for a Disney show called the Owl House

What advice would you give your college self?

I’d tell myself to take more time to really try and find my unique voice and what it is I have to say that is different from anyone else. Looking back, in my early writing I feel like I was writing in a way that was much more generic. If I had known then to really infuse my specific voice into all my work, the writing would have been much better from the beginning.

picture of a script

What makes you proud to be a KU Alumni?

I truly loved my time and KU and especially in the film department and the design department it was a really great environment to learn and grow creatively. My experiences at KU truly helped me to get to where I am today.

Learn more at Janae Hall's Website.