Publishing

Tune into live conversations with authors, editors, and literary agents sharing their journeys and expertise in the world of publishing.

Screenwriting

Watch live panels featuring screenwriters as they break down their techniques for crafting compelling scripts and navigating the entertainment industry.

Filmmaking

Discover live streaming events where directors, producers, and cinematographers discuss the creative and technical processes behind their films.

Author Platform Essentials for Writers Who'd Rather Be Writing

August 12, 2026
Building a platform doesn't have to be complicated, time-intensive, or soul-crushing. In this practical seminar, author and podcaster Courtney Kocak will help you cut through the noise and focus on the platform-building activities that actually matter. Rather than trying to do everything, you'll learn how to identify the handful of activities that best align with your strengths, goals, and bandwidth.

Book Pipeline

Book Pipeline connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry through competitions and workshops, providing hands-on support to bridge the gap between emerging authors and the industry since 2014.

Script Pipeline

Script Pipeline connects writers with producers, agents, and managers, facilitating over $8 million in sales through competitions and ongoing industry support, helping launch major films and secure high-profile representation since 1999.

Film Pipeline

Film Pipeline connects filmmakers and writers with agencies and executives, focusing on diverse storytelling and playing an active role in developing and promoting projects, reviewing thousands of submissions annually since its launch in 2018.

Hard Truths: Book Writing Competitions

Recorded

August 20, 2024

Duration

1.5 Hours

Cost

Free

Subject

Publishing

Topics

Business, Craft

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.

Panelists

Laura Picklesimer
Laura Picklesimer’s debut novel KILL FOR LOVE (Unnamed Press, 2023) won the Book Pipeline Grand Prize for Best Thriller/Mystery. CrimeReads called the novel a "feminist American Psycho thriller," and Kirkus Reviews declared the book "neatly flips the formula of the male serial killer on its bashed-in head." Laura’s writing has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, Writer's Digest, and the Santa Ana River Review, among other […]
Ciara Duggan
Ciara Duggan is an author and screenwriter, born and raised in a small town in Northwestern Connecticut. She received her MFA from Boston University where she later taught undergraduate writing courses. Her debut YA Fantasy novel, Awakened, was published in Fall 2021, and her debut poem, Of the Night, was included in Phantom House Press’s Exquisite Poison Anthology. […]
Matthew J. Misetich
Executive Director and Partner at Pipeline Media Group, Matthew J. Misetich oversees all divisions, including Script, Book, and Film, as well as the management of Pipeline Artists and the implementation of future Pipeline entities. He began his tenure with Pipeline in 2006, working as a reader until early 2008 when he took over as manager. In that […]
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is a Senior Executive at Pipeline Media Group and Book Pipeline, Editor-in-Chief of Pipeline Artists, co-host of the Pipeline Artists original podcasts, "Reckless Creatives" and "The Story Will Save You," former Editor-in-Chief of Script magazine and a former Senior Editor at Writer's Digest. Her Script column "Balls of Steel" was selected as recommended reading by Universal Writers Program. A […]

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Upcoming Events

Author Platform Essentials for Writers Who'd Rather Be Writing

August 12, 2026
Building a platform doesn't have to be complicated, time-intensive, or soul-crushing. In this practical seminar, author and podcaster Courtney Kocak will help you cut through the noise and focus on the platform-building activities that actually matter. Rather than trying to do everything, you'll learn how to identify the handful of activities that best align with your strengths, goals, and bandwidth.

Mistakes Comedy Writers Make and How to Fix Them

August 19, 2026
Dive into the world of comedy writing. Amanda Graham explores the biggest mistakes in comedy scripts and how you can avoid them. For new and seasoned writers.

Professional Screenplay Formatting and Structure

August 26, 2026
Timothy Cooper walks you through everything he wishes he’d known when he started: the principles behind why formatting matters, his tried-and-true steps to building your story from logline to outline to script, and exactly what differentiates professional pages from amateur ones.

Latest Streaming

Symposium Community Writing Sprint Night

August 5, 2026
Join us for two hours of writing on Zoom (free), with breaks to discuss our progress and struggles. We'll be using the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of writing, with a 5-minute break). You can choose to have your camera on or off. No judgment! Just a community of writers to support each other. You don't need to participate for a full two hours. Pop in and out, as needed.

Screenwriting Essentials: Improving the Read

July 29, 2026
Professional screenwriter Tom Vaughan (Winchester, starring Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren) shares critical advice to elevate your writing to a more pro level.

Commercially-Driven Decisions: Being Intentional with Story Choices

July 22, 2026
The Commercially Driven Choices session by Court Stevens reveals what separates stories that are simply well-written from those that truly connect and sell. This dynamic session unpacks the strategic decisions writers must make to increase reader engagement—focusing on transformation, satisfaction, opposition, scope, and consumability as the core drivers of commercial storytelling.

Symposium, presented by Pipeline Artists, is a year-round virtual conference empowering creatives with honest, no-nonsense guidance across the arts. Through seminars, industry panels, and Town Hall discussions on screenwriting, filmmaking, publishing, and career-building, Symposium offers grounded advice from working professionals to help you forge your own unique path.

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