Lily Mercer

Personal Bio

Lily Mercer grew up a cross between Honey Boo-Boo and Kate Middleton.  Her father, one of 12 children from a humble family in Kentucky, went on to become a successful politician.  As a result Lily straddled two different worlds – one week she would be visiting her cousins and using the outhouse; the next she’d be meeting the governor.  She was very close to three of her “spinster” aunts, who lived life on their own terns, so no surprise, Lily writes about women from all walks of life who aren’t afraid to break the rules.

           Determined to break a few rules of her own, Lily opted to skip law school and move to New York, where she attended the prestigious Playwrights Horizons Theatre School.  There she studied acting, directing, and playwriting.  After completing the program she worked extensively as an actor and theatre director, then added teaching to her resume.  While working as an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University, she founded a small professional theatre in Sedona where she dove into story-telling from every angle.  Ultimately Lily embraced her love of words and applied to the graduate program in Dramatic Writing at NYU/Tisch.  She received her MFA in 2012, as well as the Charles Pupura Award for excellence. 

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2013, Lily has won the ISA (International Screenwriting Association) Fast Track Fellowship, the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Best Screenplay, and advanced in twelve other competitions including the Nicholl Fellowship, the Page Awards, Austin Film Festival, CineStory Fellowship, and the Creative World Awards.  Lily was also selected as one of the “Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2018.”  Currently she runs the Bechdel Babes Writing Partners, a diverse group of female film and television writers, and uses her free time to advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.

Resume / CV