Jan Manon
- Writer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Jan A. Manon is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and suspense stories and books. She is also a pilot, skier, designer and engineer. Hailing from Burlington, Vermont, Jan wrote and published her first book at the age of four. She rose to popularity in Europe after directing her first short film Ava (2004) based on her original screenplay. Jan is working on a fantasy novel set in medieval times (estimated launch 2024).
Jan grew up in a loving, aristocratic household, her father, an artist and engineer building ships, and her mother, who was musical, and managed the household. Her mom was known for her generosity and opened doors to everyone. Her early childhood was spent in New York and Vermont, with frequent trips abroad to England and Europe. Early on, Jan published her first story at the age of 4. At 5, she was singing Edelweiss and participating in musicals for a children's theater, performing on Broadway and in England. As a kid, she was always rescuing animals - squirrels, rabbits and birds.
However, her father died of a heart attack that year. Years later, affected by this and at her mother's urging, Jan gave up her initial childhood plan to be a veterinarian and went to college to be a doctor. She initially planned on being a cardiologist. However, she soon found out that she did not like the commercial nature of the profession. Instead, she designed her own curriculum in the arts and sciences at the same rigorous level. She skipped classes and passed all her exams. When her anatomy professor realized this, he pulled her over and insisted on attendance. To make up, Jan drew all the anatomy drawings used by her professor to teach class. She found she was more interested in drawing the human body than dissecting it.
Jan has inherited her mother's love of traveling and exploring. Every childhood summer was spent abroad with her maternal family and primarily at the family residence of her maternal uncle, an ambassador who had a large estate with an extensive library and gardens. Her mother insisted upon a strong academic background early on. Her mother is a classically trained mezzo soprano who never performed in public, but taught her children to treasure music. Jan was tutored in music from the age of 3 to 9 and languages from the age of 9 to 15.
While at college at Emory University, Jan also worked part-time as a designer and art director with a few modeling gigs for local advertising campaigns from the age of 16 to 20. After graduating, she moved back north. She continued to explore artistic pursuits while still working as a designer and also leading hikes as a wilderness guide and teaching skiing in Vermont and Maine part-time for 12 years. In 2003, at 28, Jan shot her first film AVA on 35mm as a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic. She had no prior film experience, but submitted her first screenplay and was immediately accepted. Her professor, Thomas Gregor, said 'she was exactly the kind of student they dreamed of having.' A year later, she attended Lincoln College at Oxford University for her Master's in literature. In 2003, at 27, she founded Elf, a digital creative agency, while studying film and literature simultaneously.
In 2007, Jan launched Elf full time, developing numerous client works, including historical biographies on the Vanderbilt family. Jan is a self-taught software engineer who is known for designing and developing beautiful apps for Apple's platforms.
In addition to designing apps for every digital screen, Jan's recent design work includes all things aviation. A keen aviator, Jan's love of flying has drawn her to designing airplanes, aeronautical elements, specialized aircraft equipment, and redesigning airport terminals and landing pads.
Jan grew up in a loving, aristocratic household, her father, an artist and engineer building ships, and her mother, who was musical, and managed the household. Her mom was known for her generosity and opened doors to everyone. Her early childhood was spent in New York and Vermont, with frequent trips abroad to England and Europe. Early on, Jan published her first story at the age of 4. At 5, she was singing Edelweiss and participating in musicals for a children's theater, performing on Broadway and in England. As a kid, she was always rescuing animals - squirrels, rabbits and birds.
However, her father died of a heart attack that year. Years later, affected by this and at her mother's urging, Jan gave up her initial childhood plan to be a veterinarian and went to college to be a doctor. She initially planned on being a cardiologist. However, she soon found out that she did not like the commercial nature of the profession. Instead, she designed her own curriculum in the arts and sciences at the same rigorous level. She skipped classes and passed all her exams. When her anatomy professor realized this, he pulled her over and insisted on attendance. To make up, Jan drew all the anatomy drawings used by her professor to teach class. She found she was more interested in drawing the human body than dissecting it.
Jan has inherited her mother's love of traveling and exploring. Every childhood summer was spent abroad with her maternal family and primarily at the family residence of her maternal uncle, an ambassador who had a large estate with an extensive library and gardens. Her mother insisted upon a strong academic background early on. Her mother is a classically trained mezzo soprano who never performed in public, but taught her children to treasure music. Jan was tutored in music from the age of 3 to 9 and languages from the age of 9 to 15.
While at college at Emory University, Jan also worked part-time as a designer and art director with a few modeling gigs for local advertising campaigns from the age of 16 to 20. After graduating, she moved back north. She continued to explore artistic pursuits while still working as a designer and also leading hikes as a wilderness guide and teaching skiing in Vermont and Maine part-time for 12 years. In 2003, at 28, Jan shot her first film AVA on 35mm as a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic. She had no prior film experience, but submitted her first screenplay and was immediately accepted. Her professor, Thomas Gregor, said 'she was exactly the kind of student they dreamed of having.' A year later, she attended Lincoln College at Oxford University for her Master's in literature. In 2003, at 27, she founded Elf, a digital creative agency, while studying film and literature simultaneously.
In 2007, Jan launched Elf full time, developing numerous client works, including historical biographies on the Vanderbilt family. Jan is a self-taught software engineer who is known for designing and developing beautiful apps for Apple's platforms.
In addition to designing apps for every digital screen, Jan's recent design work includes all things aviation. A keen aviator, Jan's love of flying has drawn her to designing airplanes, aeronautical elements, specialized aircraft equipment, and redesigning airport terminals and landing pads.