INDUSTRY 101 EVENT SERIES

Representatives 101:
"How Do I Find A Manager?"
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 | 5-6:30 PM PT | Online

We get asked this question a lot. Our response: “How much time do you have?” If you have 90 minutes, join us for this practical conversation in which we will discuss the do’s and don’ts of engaging and working with literary managers.

At what stage in my career should I begin looking for a manager? How can I tell if a manager is right for me? How do agencies, agents, and managers work with writers and other creatives? Join us as we discuss these questions and more.

Warning: the term “circle back” may or may not be featured regularly throughout the discussion.

Adesuwa McCalla, MetaMorphic Entertainment

Adesuwa McCalla is principal of the literary management firm MetaMorphic Entertainment, where she identifies under-the-radar fresh voices that reflect different worlds and perspectives with a literary talent for recognizing great material for her roster of clients. These span award-winning and critically acclaimed film and TV writers and directors whose projects include the Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda, Emmy-winning Star Trek: Picard, as well as series Found, All-American, All-American: Homecoming, Reasonable Doubt, Raising Kanan, Snowfall, Bigger, 13 Reasons Why, P-Valley, Westworld, The Flash and Tell Me a Story. She previously worked at the BBC, ITV, Nickelodeon, and MTV in various roles and collaborated with prolific actor-writer-director Bill Duke to identify marketable fan-engaging series which ultimately propelled her to a programming role at The WB, where she shepherded the groundbreaking series Angel, Smallville, and Grounded for Life.

Ryan Saul, Evoke Entertainment

Ryan is the Head of Motion Picture Literary at Evoke Entertainment (formerly The Cartel), representing a dynamic roster of writers and directors across both motion pictures and series. With a storied career spanning over two decades as an agent, Ryan has earned a reputation for transforming talented short-film directors into celebrated motion picture visionaries. Notable success stories include Wes Ball (The Maze Runner series, Return to the Planet of the Apes), Tim Reckart (The Star, Paul McCartney’s High in the Clouds), and Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four).

On the writing side, Ryan has carved out a niche in feature animation, nurturing writers involved in acclaimed projects like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Klaus, and Ferdinand the Bull. One of his earliest deals helped bring Brother Bear and Chicken Little to life. Most recently, he was instrumental in developing the successful Sonic the Hedgehog franchise with writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller for Paramount.

He recently had two clients nominated for Academy Awards: award-winning documentary director Kim A. Snyder and Darwin Shaw (Best Narrative Short Film) for The Last Ranger.

In his current role, Ryan has ventured into producing, collaborating with Viola Davis’ JuVee Pictures on the upcoming Truthsayers and earning his first producing credit on the feature film The Saviors. Directed by his client Kevin Hamedani, the film boasts an impressive cast, including Adam Scott, Danielle Deadwyler, Greg Kinnear, and Kate Berlant. Ryan also represents esteemed television showrunners like Michael Alaimo (Bosch: Ballard) and Kiersten Van Horne (Outlander).

A proud graduate of Bradley University, Ryan holds degrees in Theatre and European History, as well as an MFA in Film Production from Florida State University, where he continues to share his expertise as a teacher. Fun fact: Ryan’s talents extend beyond his industry expertise—he’s an award-winning theatre director with a knack for bringing down the house in Prince karaoke.

Kate Sharp, Bellevue Productions

Kate Sharp is an Emmy-nominated producer and manager with Bellevue Productions. She was an Executive Producer on the Hulu original, Emmy-nominated TV series Behind The Mask. Her film credits include Peep World, Better Living Through Chemistry, Madame Bovary, and The Hallow.

Most recently, her feature film Love, Brooklyn premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in dramatic competition. It stars André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr.

On the management side, her client projects have most recently appeared on the 2024 Black List and have premiered at Sundance, TIFF, and Cannes.

On the TV side, her clients have written on such series as Star Trek: Picard, Genius: Aretha Franklin, Ordinary Joe, Primo, Man On The Inside, Life By Ella, Chucky, Fire Country, and Never Have I Ever.

Geoff Silverman, Evoke Entertainment

Geoff Silverman is a Literary Partner/Producer at EVOKE, a management firm, representing the careers of Showrunners to Staff Writers working in film and television for the past dozen years. He is currently a co-Executive Producer on AMC’s Creepshow. Geoff began his career at the William Morris Agency, Fox Broadcasting Company, and Fremantle. He was later hired by Brandon Tartikoff (former head of NBC, ABC, Paramount Pictures) as Director of Development, New World TV. In 2005 Geoff moved into TV literary Management focused on representing diverse, important voices and has cultivated a premium list of clients.

Diana Luna
Executive Director, The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)

Over the course of her extensive 20 years of career, Diana Luna has prioritized creating opportunities that support the professional advancement of individuals in a variety of creative fields, in particular those from underrepresented communities.

Born and raised in Mexico City, she holds a BA in Communications from Tec de Monterrey and a MS in Business Administration from Saint Michael’s College. She began her career in Mexico City in public relations, before relocating to Vermont working in college admissions to develop diversity initiatives.

Attracted by the California sun, she arrived at Claremont Graduate University to launch the masters degrees in Arts Management and Art Business. At CGU she impulsed and oversaw the Latino Arts Leaders Fellowship with the goal of increasing and positioning Latino executives in the arts nonprofit sector in Los Angeles.

As the director of LMU Extension at Loyola Marymount University, she managed more than 160 job training certificate programs focusing on providing job placement for underserved populations (veterans, persons with disabilities, at-risk youth, homeless, etc.) through industry partnerships, scholarships, and awarded federal grants.

Continuing fostering her passion for the arts, for the past 7 years, Diana led the nonprofit organization Tomorrow's Filmmakers Today (TFT) with the goal of highlighting and advancing the careers of emerging Latino filmmakers. In partnership with Hola Mexico Film Festival, TFT is today a tight community of more than a hundred talented creators that together promote professional growth, access to unique projects and collaborations.

Diana has a kid in college and currently lives in Los Angeles Arts District with her old dog Moka.