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
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X: @PipelineArtists
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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

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