BRIAN JAMES MCGUIRE

Filmmaker | Writer | Educator | Producer

Lecturer – University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts – Film, Video, Animation and New Genres Mitchell Hall B83

Fall 2026 Courses

Directing

Writing for Film

Digital Filmmaking

Senior Project I

Stop Terrorizing the Birds is set in Utah in 1992 and follows twelve-year-old James Maby and his half-brother Skip as they cut school, wander their neighborhood, and navigate the unstable adults in their lives. When James finds a gun in an alley, he becomes attached to what it makes him feel: stronger, more in control, and a little less invisible. The novel centers on their friendship, James’s attempt to understand the adults in his life, and the private logic he uses to make sense of neglect, violence, loyalty, and the possibility of escape.