Épisodes

  • One-on-One with Literary Agent Cecilia "CeCe" Lyra
    Jan 15 2026

    If you're a listener to the podcast "The Shit No One Tells You About Writing," you already know the amazing literary agent CeCe Lyra. To say we're thrilled to have her on Symposium is the understatement of the year.

    At Symposium we have one important rule: To tell people what they need to hear not necessarily what they want to hear. Hard truths will get you farther in your career than false hope, and CeCe politely puts her Grinch hat on to deliver the honest advice you need to improve your odds at publication.

    We'll dive into the world of a lit agent, the advice writers need to improve, and you'll even get to ask questions, too!

    *NOTE: Zoom played tricks with CeCe's calendar, so we got the party started a little late. You can watch the first minutes of Jeanne's impromptu AMA, or skip to the 8:30-minute mark when CeCe's genius starts.

    Cecilia “CeCe” Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates representing adult fiction and non-fiction. She is drawn to books with strong hooks and smooth writing, told with originality, nuance, and authenticity. A long-term strategic thinker, CeCe prioritizes the creative reach and sustainable longevity of her authors’ careers, and she is especially looking for clients with whom she can build fruitful, lasting relationships.

    Both a storyteller and a storyseller, CeCe believes that stories are empathy-generating machines capable of healing, connecting, and enacting true change. As a mixed race Latinx immigrant, CeCe understands the power of seeing oneself reflected in books, hence her passion for championing under or misrepresented voices and narratives that contribute to a larger cultural conversation. CeCe is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA). The popular podcast The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, for which CeCe is a co-host, has over four million downloads. CeCe is also a recovering lawyer, but asks that you do not hold that against her.

    Resources from this session:

    • CeCe’s Classes
    • CeCe’s Website
    • CeCe on Threads: @cece_lyra_agent
    • CeCe on IG: @cece_lyra_agent
    • CeCe’s LinkTree
    • Wendy Sherman Associates
    • Wendy Sherman Associates Submission Guidelines
    • Podcast December Bonus Episode with Agents of Wendy Sherman Associates
    • “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing” Substack

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 29 min
  • One-on-One with Crosby Selander
    Sep 11 2025

    Matt Misetich, Executive Director of Pipeline Media Group, talks with screenwriter Crosby Selander about the state of the screenwriting industry. Included in the discussion is a live Q&A with the attendees.

    Crosby Selander is a Los Angeles based screenwriter and filmmaker. He received a double BA from New York University, and his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University where he was the recipient of a Shubert Fellowship. After placing as a finalist in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest, his screenplay BRING ME BACK (currently set up at Legendary) went on to become the biggest spec sale of 2020, and one of the biggest all-time from an unproduced writer.

    Crosby went on to develop the Hugo-winning novel THE FOREVER WAR for TV alongside director Francis Lawrence for Village Roadshow, and served in the feature writing room for the MATCHBOX movie for Skydance.

    He has projects in active development at Lab Brew, 193, and Weed Road. His short films have played at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and dozens of other film festivals around the world. He’s been featured in Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and China Daily, among others.

    He's repped for film/tv at UTA and Kaplan Perrone Entertainment.

    • Watch Recording on YouTube
    • Crosby on X: @CrosbySelander

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 6 min
  • One-on-One with Producer Michael Peterson
    Jun 11 2025

    Pipeline Executive Director Matthew Misetich talked with Michael Peterson, Vice President of Development for Phoenix Pictures, to discuss the art of screenwriting and filmmaking through the lens of a producer.

    As always, our Symposium one-on-one conversations are a community event, welcoming the audience's questions, too.

    Resources:

    Recording on YouTube

    Michael Peterson’s Bio

    Relevant Symposiums Sessions:

    • Writing to Budget” by Bob Saenz
    • Creative Strategies for the Changing Screenwriting Landscape” with Lee Jessup
    • Wednesday, August 6th: “Logline Workshop” with Merridith Allen (offered multiple times a year)

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 3 min
  • One-on-One with Literary Agent Kate McKean
    Jun 10 2025

    Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, but she's also an author and the creator of the popular Agents & Books newsletter. Get ready for the ultimate agent AMA.

    Pipeline exec Jeanne Veillette Bowerman conducts an intimate one-on-one dialogue with Kate, diving into the life of an agent, and also her new book, Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life, coming out in June. If that's not enough, she also has a picture book set to publish by Sourcebooks in 2026.

    As always, our Symposium one-on-one conversations are a community event. While Jeanne and Kate converse, your questions will be addressed, too.

    Pour a beverage, sit back and relax. Enjoy the dialogue.

    Resources:

    Kate’s Website
    Agents + Books Newsletter
    Kate on IG
    Kate on X
    Kate on BlueSky
    Kate on Goodreads

    Order Kate’s new book, Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life

    Free Symposiums Mentioned:

    Hard Truths: Book Writing Competitions
    One-on-One with Victoria Strauss

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 4 min
  • One-on-One with Bestselling Thriller Writer J.T. Ellison
    Feb 5 2025

    J.T. Ellison is not only a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels, she's also an EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS, and one of the most generous professional writers in the industry.

    As always, our Symposium one-on-one conversations are a community event. While Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and J.T. converse, your questions will be addressed, too!

    Pour a beverage, sit back and relax. Join the dialogue.

    Resources from this session:
    J.T. Ellison's Website
    J.T.'s Substack
    J.T.'s Newsletter
    Reckless Creatives Podcast with John Truby
    Symposium: "Self-Publishing: The Fundamentals and Beyond"

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 14 min
  • Hard Truths: Book Writing Competitions
    Jan 9 2025

    Writing contests provide an opportunity for writers to get recognition for their work, win monetary prizes, and even have their work pitched to literary agents.

    Understanding how contests actually work and what types of projects typically resonate is essential to any writer looking to compete—the story idea, the quality of the writing sample, the voice of the author, etc.

    Our Book Pipeline execs, Matthew J. Misetich, Ciara Duggan and Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, join contest-winning writer Laura Picklesimer to offer insider tips on writing competitions.

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 17 min
  • Reckless Creatives: Live with Scott Myers
    Dec 31 2024

    Reckless Creatives podcast co-hosts, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman and Sadie Dean, had a live conversation with the legendary Scott Myers about screenwriting, the life of an artist, his new book, The Protagonist's Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling, and so much more. This episode was recorded on May 16, 2023, during the WGA strike.

    Our regular Reckless Creatives listeners and Symposium attendees participated and asked Scott questions, too!

    Scott has more thoughts on the WGA strike, too. Check his blog for updates.

    [Note: For the MovieMaker article on dos and don'ts for pre-WGA writers during the WGA strike, read here.]

    Resources discussed:

    The Protagonist's Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytelling
    Scott's site: Go Into the Story
    Scott's WGA strike updates
    Scott's Facebook group: Zero Draft Thirty
    MovieMaker article "Dos and Don'ts for Pre-WGA Writers"
    Follow Scott: @gointothestory
    Follow Sadie: @SadieKDean
    Follow Jeanne: @jeannevb

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    2 h et 6 min
  • Hard Truths: From Screenwriter to Graphic Novelist
    Dec 23 2024

    Pipeline Executives Roni Brown and Spike Scarberry join Thomas Krajewski—the co-creator of Primer (DC), a really rad graphic novel series, and a former Script Pipeline TV Winner (2014)—to discuss the intricacies of the comic world.

    You might even leave wanting to adapt your screenplay into a graphic novel!

    Watch the video of this session on Symposium site.

    More Info:
    Pipeline Artists
    New live Symposium sessions
    Watch on-demand sessions
    Enter Pipeline contests
    Subscribe: YouTube Channel
    X: @PipelineArtists
    Pipeline OG Podcasts

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    1 h et 33 min