James Irwin is a writer & editor, media artist, lecturer, and organizational communication expert. Calvin Ahlgren of the San Francisco Chronicle once described him as “breezing into rooms with calm eyes wide.” Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times once wrote that he is “witty and ingenious.” It should be noted while the critic Michael Fox, writing in Film Month, agreed that James has “mischievous wit,” he found his humor “dark.”
James has published articles on film, culture, and the arts in dozens of publications, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brevity, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Anima, Spiral Magazine, Artweek, and Shift Magazine. He is associate editor of the Atlantic Journal of Communication, a founding editor of and contributor to the film journal Cinematograph, and founding film editor of the weekly tabloid Steel City Star in Pittsuburgh.
James has been a speaker at conferences, festivals, and events throughout the United States. These include the International Association of Business Communicators, Schering-Plough Executive Lecture Series at Fairleigh Dickinson University, HippoCamp Writers Conference, New Jersey Communication Association, San Francisco International Film Festival, Public Relations Society of America, and others.
A recipient of awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Foundation, and American Film Institute, his media work has been shown throughout North America, as well as in South America and Europe. The art critic Will Torphy has compared his films to the work of Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger. James has taught film and communication at universities on both coasts of the United States, including University of California Berkeley, San Francisco State University, Wm. Paterson University, Montclair State University, and Ramapo University, among others.
James has held leadership positions in marketing communication with Deloitte, EY (previously Ernst & Young), and Comcast, and was principle of a boutique consultancy in San Francisco. His work has earned awards from the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association, Ziff-Davis Publishing, USA Today, and Ernst & Young. He has served on the executive boards of non-profit organizations in California and New Jersey.
James was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, up the Schuylkill River from Philadelphia. A baseball player as a kid, James made walking-around money as a tennis pro in New York, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. As an adult he was an avid player of racquetball, basketball, and softball. Since the 1990s he has lived in northern New Jersey.
Education and training
- Master of Fine Arts, Film and Media, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco California
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Film Production, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York New York
- Film and Creative Writing Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
- Certification, Impact of Digital Program, New York University Stern School of Business, New York New York
- Associate’s Certificate, Project Management, George Washington University School of Business, Washington District of Columbia
- Accredited Business Communicator, International Association of Business Communicators
Selected awards
- Josie Rubio Scholarship, Gotham Writers Workshop, New York New York
- High Impact Award, Americas Region, Ernst & Young
- JASPER Gold Award, Website Development, Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association, New Jersey
- Best USA Cable Operator Website, Ziff-Davis/ZDTV and California Cable Television Association, Western Cable Show
- National Web Site of the Day, USA Today
- SECA Film as Art Award, San Francisco Museum of Art, Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art, San Francisco California
- Film Production Youthgrant, National Endowment for the Humanities
- Interdisciplinary Project Grant, Rockefeller Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts
- Regional Media Arts Fellowship, American Film Institute, National Endowment for the Arts, and Western States Foundation
- Hall of Fame, Norristown Area High School, Norristown Pennsylvania
- Director’s Choice Award, Black Maria Film & Video Festival, New Jersey
- Artist in Education Grant, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
- Best in Festival Award and Tour, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor Michigan
- Sound Service Award, San Francisco Art Institute International Film Festival, San Francisco California
- Humboldt Film Festival, Arcata California
- Festival of Experimental Film, Chicago Illinois
- Kent State Film Festival, Kent Ohio