freelance writer
playwright
photographer
web design

people, travel, food, music and theater, computers and technology

As a freelance writer, I work for print and online publications worldwide, with a specialty in food criticism and travel. I focus on writing about people: whether it's a profile of an upcoming musician or an exploration of Jazz history, the impact of new architecture in Scotland or changes in American theater, my writing focuses on the human dimension and reaches out to connect with the reader.

The websites I build are primarily for musicians, designed to convey their passion and dedication to their art, while keeping in mind that music is also a business. My plays have been produced across the US and in two countries. I am co-founder of The Burry Man Writers Center, an award-winning worldwide community of writers, and the social network for creative artists called Inked-In.

jrh@jrhayes.net

Articles

Jazz Freedom

Musician Sam Rivers spent his birthday this year in a most typical way -- typical for him, that is. Sept. 25 found him onstage at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, playing breakneck-speed solos on saxophone one minute, tender passages on flute the next. Tall and mantis-thin, he hoots and hollers, dancing across the stage and involving his audience with an energy and style that most rock bands would compact with the devil to attain.
more►
(Orlando Sentinel Calendar)

If You Knew Sushi

Had raw fish lately? If not, it's because you've consciously avoided it. The recent explosion of sushi bars, from boutique restaurants like Roy's to the fish counter at Publix Supermarket, has made sashimi (the actual fish; sushi refers to the rice) the new hot ticket.
more►
(Edmundton VUE Weekly; Tampa Weekly Planet; Orlando Weekly)

Nicola Griffith Finds Her Place

When asked what kind of writer she is, Nicola Griffith responds frankly, "Determined. Convinced of my own worth." Her work shows proof of that conviction. Her first novel, the paperback original Ammonite (Del Rey, 93), won the James Tiptree Jr. and Lambda Literary Awards, and the ecologically-oriented Slow River (Del Rey, 95) was winner of the 1997 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1996 Lambda Award. Her Yaguara won the 1996 Nebula for Best Novella.
more►
(January Magazine)

A Walking Tour of London's Jewish Past

A tour of London's Jewish past is full of qualifiers, language with many references to former buildings, places that "used to be" and use of the word "original" - sites of interest, with explanation. The area known as the East End is many hamlets adjoining the old City of London, the Cockney section famously within hearing distance of the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow church
more►
(TimeTravel-Britain.com)
Credits

Travel:

  • Eyewitness Travel Guide Walt Disney World Resort & Orlando (Dorling Kindersley 2005)
  • The Orlando Citybook, Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce
  • New to Central Florida, SunTrust Bank
  • plus: Follow the Rabbit; Industry; TimeTravel-Britain.com; VisitFlorida.com; St. Augustine Visitors and Convention Bureau; Aging With Style; Moments Aboard Spirit Airlines; TripMatcher.com; Venture Woman; Orlando Sentinel

Food and Restaurant critic:

  • OrlandoDiningOut.com 2007
  • Orlando Weekly 2000-2004
  • Orlando Magazine 1998-2000
  • James Beard Foundation regional judge, 2007-2008
  • plus: Edmonton VUE Weekly; Lighting Homestyle; Tampa Weekly Planet; Metro Times Detroit

Features & Entertainment:

  • Style 1900; Aviation International News; Orlando Sentinel; Orlando Weekly
  • plus: Inklings / Inkspot; January Magazine; Poets & Writers; Writer's Journal; Inscriptions Magazine; Barnes&Noble.com; Fiction Writers Connection; MaximumPC; Body; savvyHEALTH; AlterNet; The Jerusalem Report; Florida Realtor; Songlines

Contributing writer:

  • DigitalCity; Gila Queen's Guide to Markets; iUniverse; Netsurfer Digest; Venture Woman

Copywriting:

  • The Boardwalk Group; Triplehop Technologies; Walz Tetrick Advertising; Miles Media Group; Florida Association of Realtors; HOUR Media

Photography:

  • solo exhibition at Infusion Tea, Orlando 2007; CD cover photos, Torque, Brian Groder; published in magazines and newspapers

Associate Writing Artist-in-Residence, Atlantic Center for the Arts:

  • working with Cornelius Eady, 2007; Douglas Coupland, 2000; Samuel R. Delany, 1997

20 years experience in the business side of publishing

Audio tech for theater, television and radio

Corporate sales trainer for high-end consumer electronics

Plays
Plays written by Joseph Reed Hayes have been called "lyrical", "touching", "beautiful" and "a welcome oasis of cultural smarts". Noted composer and writer David Amram called him "a true dramatist," and said, "His work and all the events he creates are significant nationally and internationally."
  • A LITTLE CRAZY
    "Hayes' work is appealing and sometimes downright lyrical." - Orlando Sentinel
    Finalist, ATC Fall 2003 Contest for Original Full-Length Plays; Bill Whitney Senior Players, Portland, OR 2003; Orlando International Fringe Festival 2002; Staged reading Eyewitness Theatre, Manchester England 2001
  • AFTER TWO
    "Hayes handles themes deftly, probing their significance without becoming heavy-handed or melodramatic." - Lake County Repertory Theater
    Workshop, Lake County Repertory Theater, Lower Lake, California, 2004; Finalist, "Playing by the Lake" Script Writing Festival 2003
  • A GOD IN ASPECT Charade Drama Group, Bristol, England 2004
  • THE PLANETS ALIGN IN THEIR SINISTER DESIGN Reading, Chapters on Park (with David Amram) Orlando FL 2004; The Jazz Gallery, NYC 2003; Atlantic Center for the Arts 1997
  • SLOW RIDE Reading w/music by Christopher Watkins, benefit for Kerouac House, Orlando FL 2006
  • SOLOS
    "A welcome oasis of cultural smarts" - Orlando Weekly
    Orlando International Fringe Festival 2004
  • WEST FARMS VisionTV, Orlando FL 2007; Valencia College Black Box Theatre, Orlando FL 2007; Subject, Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Critical Writing Competition, San Antonio TX 2006; Theatre Downtown, Orlando FL 2006; The Jazz Gallery, NYC 2003; Atlantic Center for the Arts 2000

More information at josephreedhayes.com►

Web Design

The Burry Man Writers Network

Photography