The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Shooting The Shit About 1.7 million on Day One

It’s been a minute…or more like a month! The dynamic literary agent duo are reunited and Shooting the Shit! Carly and CeCe catch up on publishing events, exciting book de

An Editorial Director on Books with Hooks

Literary agent CeCe Lyra is joined by Editorial Director Bhavna Chauhan, at Doubleday Canada, for a special Books with Hooks episode. They dig into two query letters and

Shooting The Shit With Special Guest Regina Brooks

It’s Carly’s turn to give CeCe FOMO! Carly is back in the hot seat with special guest Regina Brooks, founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency and President of the A

Believing in Your Worth Despite Being Rejected Over 250 Times

This week on the podcast Bianca sits down with Cherokee Nation member, USA Today bestselling author Vanessa Lillie to discuss her gripping new thriller, The Bone Thief. V

October Bonus Episode

It’s the last Monday of the month and that means it’s Bonus Episode week! Back in the hot seat is Emilie Sommer from East City Bookshop to answer all your comp questions.

Your Job Is to Seduce, Not Explain

Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by listener Yemeng Lu-Myers. Our hosts critique Yemeng’s upmarket novel, discussing the importance of specificity when discussing incit

Shooting the Shit Featuring Guest Literary Agent Ashley Lopez

With Carly still on vacation, CeCe is getting herself into a little mischief! This week CeCe trades her cup of coffee and pours herself a glass of wine with friend and li

Everything You Write Is Both a One-Star Review and a Tattoo

Bianca sits down with author Jonathan Edward Durham to talk about Winterset Hollow, his genre-bending novel that went from self-published hidden gem to cult favourite—and

Shooting the Shit With CeCe's Former Co-Workers Turned Bestie

Will Carly have a serious case of FOMO after this Monday’s Shooting the Shit episode?! In this special episode, CeCe was supposed to fly solo—but instead, she twisted the

Delivering on the DNA of the Book

It’s Books with Hooks week on the podcast! This week, CeCe and Bianca are joined by acquiring editor Elizabeth Hitti Musicant from Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Rando

Shooting The Shit About People of Publishing

It’s the first Monday of the month, which means Carly and CeCe are back for another Shooting the Shit! This week, Carly and CeCe unpack the latest from the People of Publ

Insights From Imbolo Mbue and Patrick Ryan

October is starting with a BANG. And this episode delivers. In part one, Bianca sits down with award-winning author Imbolo Mbue, author of the New York Times bestseller B

September Bonus Episode

In part one of this month’s bonus episode, Emily St. John Mandel joins Bianca Marais to talk about Exit Party, the interconnected Mandelverse, and her unconventional writ

When Hell Freezes Over

In this extra-special Books with Hooks, Olivia Haberman joins Bianca, Carly, and CeCe to workshop her upmarket novel Nobody Panic—and earns some seriously rare praise. Th

Shooting The Shit About The AI Creativity Loop And Book Emergencies

Carly and CeCe are back for another Shooting the Shit. This week they are talking about the unexpected work literary agents do behind the scenes—from tracking book availa

Writing Insights From the Greats: Isabelle Allende and Jodi Picoult

Bestselling author Isabel Allende joins CeCe Lyra for an incredible interview that touches on storytelling, creativity, and the writing life. From the difference between

Shooting the Shit About The End of Nonfiction And Immersive Trends In Fiction

Carly and CeCe are back! This week they tackle what’s shifting in the book world—from immersive audiobooks becoming a “movie between your ears” to bookstores proving that

An Acquiring Editor on Books With Hooks

This week's Books with Hooks welcomes special guest and acquiring editor Kirsiah Depp. Together with CeCe and Bianca, she critiques two fantasy queries, shares what makes

Shooting the Shit About Advance Sizes and E-Learning Economics

Carly and CeCe are back to Shoot the Shit about the money behind publishing—and why getting published doesn’t mean the hard part is over. They dig into why an author’s se

In Conversation with Editor and Author

Author Elizabeth Urso and her editor Alex Brown of Rising Action Publishing join Bianca Marais to talk about the journey behind Hail Mary, a dark, visceral thriller steep