Cecilia Kennedy
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Professional Summary: Writer & editor obsessed with haunting stories. Pop-culture enthusiast. Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Warner Bros.-approved copy. In-house agency copywriter for Funko. Former educator (English comp/creative writing/Spanish: The Ohio State University, University of Dayton, Clark State College). Reviewer for McGraw-Hill, Cengage & W.W. Norton publications. Stories published in anthologies & literary magazines in the United States, Canada, Singapore, UK, Australia & Nigeria. Pushcart nominee, 2023. Best Small Fictions nominee, 2024. Best of the Net nominee, 2022.
Skills Summary:​
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Copywriting
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Creative Writing
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Editing (Concept, Developmental & Line-editing)
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Proofreading & Fact-Checking (MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, Turabian, AP)
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SEO Best Practices (Certificate from HubSpot Academy in 2023)
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Research
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Microsoft Office, Teams, Zoom, Slack, Google Docs, Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Angel, Thinkific), Jira, Asana, WordPress, Salesforce/Page Designer
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Fluent in Spanish
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Journalism/news writing/reporting/interviewing (Reporter for a local paper (The Delaware Gazette) while in college)​
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Writing Experience:
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Write for 80+ DTC campaigns a year, including social media posts, email content, website headlines, SMS, video captions, blog posts, and paid copy for new/returning customers. Contributed to $1 million of revenue in 2023. Clients include Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, DC, TOEI Animation, Snoop Dogg, Flavor Flav, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, JuJu Watkins, Ice Spice, NFL, MLB, and more. Turnaround time for "Hot Markets" is typically 2-7 days for all campaign copy. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)​
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Create narratives & bios for original Funko characters, including the Oddvocados and Boo Hollow collectibles. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Apply SEO best practices to write over 200 meta titles and descriptions for Funko's website for both the United States and Canada. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Write packaging blurbs and invent names for new products 10 times a year (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Created 15-30-second audio scripts for POP! Yourself evergreen and holiday campaigns. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Write between 100-300 descriptions a year for both Loungefly and Funko.com products. (vinyl figures, apparel, backpacks, handbags, wallets, pins, journals, and other accessories) (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Work with authors from Running Wild Press to develop back cover blurbs and promotional bios for their published books. (Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor, 2018-Present)
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Contributed updates and additions to Pearson Publishing's Writers' Handbook to appeal to a wider audience of students. (Writing Lead & Instructor, Pearson Publishing Smarthinking, 2016-2021)
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Created online and in-person course content, including audio/video/blog posts in English and Spanish, resulting in an 80% retention and completion rate of students in the five-six courses I'd teach per semester. (Associate Professor of English and Spanish, Clark State College, 2005-2016)
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Regularly created advertising materials to attract students to elective courses: Monsters & Mead Halls (Beowulf) & Women Who Took on the Devil and Won (Medieval Mystics & Visionaries). Wrote press releases advertising the Humanities Colloquium and prepared back cover blurbs and advertising materials for textbooks authored. (Associate Professor of English and Spanish, Clark State College, 2005-2016)
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Wrote project briefs for writing assignments that were clear, focused, and designed to draw the best work from writers. (Associate Professor of English and Spanish, Clark State College, 2005-2016)
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Editing/Proofreading Experience:
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Proofread for 2,000 + packaging reviews a year. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Proofread & line edited approximately 10 POP! Yourself blog posts written by copywriters from an outside agency. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Proofread headlines that go up on our website daily. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Proofread and copy edit, on average, 300-500 stories and articles on the craft of writing yearly for Flash Fiction Magazine, which has about 16,000 followers on X. (Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor, 2018-Present)
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Edit for Running Wild Press as a concept/developmental editor, line editor, copy editor, and proofreader. (Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor, 2018-Present)
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Identified, explained, and showed writers how to fix higher-order issues (focus/thesis/development) in creative writing and academic projects. (Writing Lead & Instructor, Pearson Publishing Smarthinking, 2016-2021)
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Applied best practices when Identifying inconsistencies in grammar and content and explaining how to fix them. (Writing Lead & Instructor, Pearson Publishing Smarthinking, 2016-2021)
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Served as the Inaugural Editor for the Journal of Virtual Exchange, a peer-reviewed journal housed with the University of Groningen Press. Duties included creating guidelines, evaluating articles for relevancy and academic rigor, and creating acceptance and rejection letters, as well as following up with authors.
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Chaired the Clark State Curriculum Committee, which involved a thorough grammar and content review of all syllabi for all technical and associate degree programs. (Associate Professor of English and Spanish, Clark State College, 2005-2016)
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Supervising/Leadership Experience:
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Acting lead in the absence of the lead copywriter. Duties include distributing assignments from the Asana queue, presenting at monthly meetings before the creative director, uploading product descriptions to the management system, and holding weekly meetings with the copy team (3 members) to discuss workload and projects. (Copywriter, Funko, Nov. 2021-Present)
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Created and implemented style guides for clients at educational institutions. (Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor, 2018-Present)
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Trained & supervised the work of 10 tutors per semester for Pearson Publishing's Smarthinking writing center. Evaluated their work, provided feedback & professional development opportunities, and ensured consistent and accurate writing advice to students. (Writing Lead & Instructor, Pearson Publishing Smarthinking, 2016-2021)
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Oversaw the College in the Classroom/Running Start Spanish program at Clark State, which involved observing five high school teachers' classes to ensure state compliance, providing feedback & professional development workshops, and writing reports to the state of my findings. (Associate Professor of English and Spanish, Clark State College, 2005-2016)
Presentations/Workshops:
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"Feed Me, Dance for Your Life: How & When to Push Back on an Editor's Advice." Write on the Sound annual conference in Edmonds, WA, 2024.
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"Horror in a Flash" writing workshop, presented at the Schack Art Center, Everett, WA, 2018.
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Writing, Language & Literature Presenter (2005-2016):
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Selected to present conference papers on various language, literature, and writing topics in English and Spanish for the following organizations: the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the Modern Languages Association (MLA), Central States Teachers of Foreign Languages, the Ohio College English Association, the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, and the University of Cincinnati Romance Languages and Literatures Department
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Education:
Ph.D. The Ohio State University, Literary Criticism, Spanish
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Studied popular culture/Spanish Golden Age Theater, when memes were mimes & "IYKYK" unfolded in the script, music & dances.
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Learned how to evaluate the effectiveness of pop-culture messages in art, literature & performances (the media of the time).
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Minored in art history.
M.A. The Ohio State University, Hispanic Literature/Literary Criticism.
B.A. Ohio Wesleyan University, English. Spanish. Journalism (Minor).
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Awards:
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Best Small Fictions Nomination, 2024, by Vast Chasm Literary Press for "Particles."
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Pushcart Nomination, 2023, by Vast Chasm Literary Press for "Particles."
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Best of the Net Nominee, 2022, by Fiery Scribe Review for "The Manuscript Room."
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Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education’s Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.
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Clark State Community College Faculty Professional Excellence Award.