About HEATDRAWN
HEATDRAWN is an independent media studio that acquires, develops, and produces original intellectual property. Every project in our catalog is built to compound — each format reinforcing the others, each story earning reach over time rather than burning through it.
HEATDRAWN was founded in 2020 by award-winning journalist and executive producer Ethan Ward.
storytelling as infrastructure
Catalog-First
We don’t produce content. We build properties — books, series, audio, and screen projects with long-term licensing and adaptation potential.
Accountability-Driven
Every project in the HEATDRAWN catalog engages with how power operates — who it serves, who it overlooks, and what happens when someone asks out loud.
Cross-Format by Design
A magazine essay becomes an audio narrative. A picture book series becomes a screen property. The catalog is designed to travel.
four verticals. One catalog.
Publishing
Books, series, and long-form editorial across fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature.
Audio
Podcasts, narrated editions, and audio documentaries built from catalog properties.
Screen
Film, documentary, and video projects adapted from or developed alongside the catalog.
Licensing
IP licensing, adaptation rights, and partnership structures for catalog properties.
SEE THE WORK
Every HEATDRAWN property is developed with cross-format potential from day one.
INHERITANCE — A magazine about race, culture, money, power, and what gets passed down.
REPUTATION — An award-winning limited series podcast on homelessness and housing policy.
THE THREAD — An AI-powered narrative experiment exploring obituary data, memory, and legacy.
Omidyar Network Tech Journalism Fund Grant (2026)
LA Press Club SoCal Journalism Award — Best Limited Podcast Series (2024)
Housing Narrative Award — Best Podcast Episode (2023)
RECOGNITION
THE FOUNDER
Ethan Ward
Founder & Executive Producer
Ethan Ward is an award-winning journalist and storyteller working at the intersection of culture, technology, and power.
He executive produced Reputation, a limited series podcast examining homelessness and housing policy, recognized by the LA Press Club and the Housing Narrative Lab. In 2026, HEATDRAWN received support from the Omidyar Network Tech Journalism Fund for investigative reporting on AI regulation and enforcement.
His reporting has appeared in USA Today, NPR, Slate, Fast Company, Marketplace, and PBS SoCal. He has delivered keynote addresses and government presentations on housing, civil rights enforcement, and responsible AI. Ward holds a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from University College Dublin, where his research focused on responsible AI and user-centered technology design. He also holds a Master of Public Diplomacy and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Southern California. In 2025, he completed the AI Policy Certificate at the Center for AI & Digital Policy.
Born in Washington, D.C., shaped by 13 years in Los Angeles, and currently working internationally, Ward’s work examines what we inherit — and what it costs to carry it forward.
