The Breakdown - Week of 11/9/20
So, technically, this is my week off. But I came across some real nuggets today (a few of them being time-sensitive), and thought I’d shoot out a short news update and heads-up about the next, upcoming Writer’s Workshop #3, which will feature an analysis of the first five pages of Rodney V. Smith’s snarky and edgy urban Vampire tale: How Not to Vampire.
👉 I also wanted to remind you all that most complimentary Premium subscriptions will expire at the end of this week! 👈
Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who’ve already decided to support the newsletter by signing up for a Premium Subscription (at only $5/month)! 💖 Your support means the world to me and allows me to keep bringing you the latest developments in the publishing and entertainment world, as well as do some deep dives into craft and industry.
However, let me state, there will still be free content as a part of this newsletter. So, please stay subscribed if you want to receive those goodies and don’t want to, or can’t, move up to Premium.
All that being said, after finally doing some backend analysis of my stats and talking to a few other newsletter owners, I’ve decided that the free news updates will be put out as I can get to them (definitely once, if not twice, a month), and I’ll still do the preview additions, but the premium Writer’s Workshops and Industry Deep Dives will be the primary and regularly scheduled content going forward.
Just so you have an idea of what’s coming up in the Premium department, we’ve got:
Writer’s Workshop #3 - An analysis of Rodney V. Smith’s edgy and snarky urban Vampire tale: How Not to Vampire.
Industry Deep Dive #2 - A deep dive into the agent’s brain, where I’ll provide you with some of the best (and probably more obscure) resources for learning what agents want and how you can best position your work to snag their attention.
Query Workshop #2 - This is where I helped a writer who wrote a one-page synopsis, thinking it was a decent query, identify the key elements of that synopsis that he could, and should, use for round two of his query draft.
Writer’s Workshop #4 - WELL, THIS COULD BE YOU!
Just a reminder that, if you’re a Premium Supporter, you can always submit your work for a First Five Pages or a Query Letter Review.
Just fill out the form here and be sure to list the email address you used to sign up for this newsletter!
The Breakdown - Workshop Submission Form
Cool Beans! Let’s take a quick look at some of the latest news and events!
News
(Click the titles for the source articles)
The HarperCollins Author Academy - Deadline - Nov.15th, 23:59 UK Time
The Author Academy is a brand-new initiative offering free training to support writers from underrepresented Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds, who are residents of the UK or Ireland. Launched by HarperCollins UK and headed by Rose Sandy, Affiliate Publisher for Harper Inspire, it aims to provide authors from underrepresented groups with the knowledge and skills to succeed.
The Academy offers three courses, covering three different genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Writing for Children.
Beginning the week of January 18, 2021, the courses will run remotely for 6 weeks, with weekly live-streamed tutorials and access to other course materials. Additional on-demand masterclasses that cover the fundamentals of publishing as a business (marketing, platform building, and design) as well as the writing fundamentals for traditional publication will be offered too. They will provide mentoring throughout and admission to an alumni network for the program.
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Contest Alert! - The ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Contest - Deadline - Nov. 30th
Hollywood has a long history of creating film and television from books. Does your book have cinematic potential? The judges in this contest are looking for great stories with the potential to be adapted for the screen. They’re looking for novels, novellas, true stories, and biographies. Submit your work by Nov. 30th!
The reason I wanted to highlight this contest is because 1) ScreenCraft has emerged as one of the more well-regarded contests in Hollywood 2) They’re looking for books, not screenplays and 3) The panel of judges is top-notch.
With Senior Editors from Henry Holt and HarperCollins, a Manager from Gravity Squared Entertainment, and an agent from UTA (amongst others) in the mix, you couldn’t get a finer opportunity to shoot for the stars, so they say. Competition will be tough, but it’s a good group of evaluators.
And a special mention here for readers who also post to Wattpad. I noticed that the UTA agent was involved with both Light as a Feather and After, both of which started on Wattpad.
Don’t think your manuscript is quite up to snuff? They have a Cinematic Short Story contest too, with the same Nov. 30th deadline.
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Book Deals
NYU MFA graduate Isabel Kaplan's THE FEMINIST GUIDE TO GETTING AHEAD, a coming-of-age story about a young woman who begins her career in TV development only to become entangled in workplace politics as sexual harassment claims embroil Hollywood; exploring the realities of female empowerment and the gray areas of complicity, to Ruby Rose Lee at Holt, at auction, by Duvall Osteen at Aragi Inc. (NA).
Lorraine Brown's THE PARIS CONNECTION, a love story about a woman whose train splits in the middle of the night and leads her on an unexpected detour to Paris, where a series of mishaps—and a charming Frenchman—teach her that the wrong road can sometimes lead one in the right direction, to Putnam, with Tricja Okuniewska editing, in a pre-empt, by Hannah Ferguson at Hardman & Swainson (NA).
Dawn Winter's SEDATING ELAINE, pitched for fans of Fleabag, LESS, and THE CACTUS, a black comedy about love, grief, sex, guilt, and one emotionally stunted woman's harebrained scheme to drug her voraciously affectionate girlfriend for a few days so that she can pay off her drug dealer, make some soup, and finally get some peace and quiet, to Jennifer Jackson at Knopf, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2022, by Susan Ginsburg at Writers House (NA).
Book Riot contributor and writer of their monthly horoscopes and book recommendations column Susie Dumond's QUEERLY BELOVED, a queer rom-com set in Tulsa, Oklahoma that follows a semi-closeted baker and bridesmaid-for-hire's search for happily ever after—with the new mysterious lesbian in town, of course, but most importantly, with herself, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in an exclusive submission, by Jamie Carr at The Book Group (world).
Liz Bowery's COVER STORY, a hate-to-love queer rom-com pitched as The West Wing meets RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by way of THE HATING GAME, in which a viral photo forces two ruthless political staffers to fake a relationship to save their presidential candidate's campaign, to Emily Ohanjanians at Mira, by Laura Zats at Headwater Literary Management (world English).
James Jennings's WINGS OF RED, about a young black man, working as a substitute teacher and basketball coach in New York City, who is forced into homelessness and reconsiders the trajectory of his life while surrounded by a cast of characters attempting to realize their own dreams despite precarious professional and financial realities, to Mensah Demary at Soft Skull, for publication in spring 2022 (world).
And this is a special one for Wattpad writers (since Lillie herself started on Wattpad):
Lillie Vale's THE SHAADI SCAM, about an Indian American woman who signs herself and her boyfriend up for a matchmaking website to prove to her meddling family that he's her perfect match—but when the site instead matches her with the man who once broke her heart, her life is turned upside down, to Margo Lipschultz at Putnam, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2021, by Jessica Watterson at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world)
Lillie Vale's BEAUTY AND THE BESHARAM, pitched as a contemporary gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast, in which an outspoken Indian-American teen learns to break down her walls and allow love in for the first time with the last guy she ever expected: her constant rival, to Dana Leydig at Viking Children's, in a pre-empt, for publication in May 2022, by Jessica Watterson at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world English).
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Book Adaptations in Development – October
John Ridley will write and direct a paranormal thriller film based on Saleah Blancaflor’s article “Project Poltergeist” for Blumhouse Productions and Truly*Adventurous. Truly*Adventurous published the article in May 2020.
Mark Bomback will script the adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s White Bird: A Wonder Story for Lionsgate and Mandeville Films. Marc Forster will direct. Alfred A. Knopf published the graphic novel in October 2020.
Catya McMullen’s Broadway play Georgia Mertching Is Dead is getting a movie adaptation from Star Thrower Entertainment. McMullen will script, and Andrea Savage will direct.
Jayson Rothwell will adapt Horace Greasley’s WWII memoir Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell? (written with Ken Scott) for Monarch Media. John Blake published in September 2013.
Over at BBC Films, Courttia Newland will adapt Augustown, written by Kei Miller. The novel was published in 2016 by Pantheon Books.
Cavalry Media has optioned Morgan Housel’s short story collection The Psychology of Money. Harriman House published in September 2020.
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Script Sales - October
Twentieth Century Studios and Original Film have picked up Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton’s action/fantasy spec The Princess, which follows a fierce princess who must fight to save her parents and her kingdom. Joey King will executive produce and star, and the film will be released on Hulu.
New Line Cinema and Five Quarters Entertainment have picked up Katie Wech’s untitled comedy spec, an animation/live-action hybrid described as Sausage Party meets Toy Story.
BuzzFeed is producing the gaming comedy 1UP, written by Julia Yorks. The story follows a female gamer as she deals with sexism in the eSports world. Kyle Newman will direct, and Ellen Page will star.
3311 Productions has acquired Revolver, a romantic comedy written by Kate Tefry. Andrew Stanton will direct, and Maya Hawke and Ehtan Hawke are set to star.
Michael Sherman and Steve Desmond’s sci-fi script Orb found a home with Infinite Entertainment. Steve Desmond will direct.
AGC Studios, Dream Bros Entertainment, and ASAP Entertainment are producing Universe’s Most Wanted, a sci-fi thriller written by F. Scott Frazier and Jimmy Loweree. Dave Bautista and Brad Peyton will produce, Peyton will direct, and Bautista will star.
Kenya Barris will write and direct a Richard Pryor biopic for MGM, Khalabo Ink Society, Levantine Films, and Tarnished Angel.
Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber will script the sequel to Warner Bros.’s The Meg. Ben Wheatley will direct, and Jason Statham will potentially reprise his role.
Universal Pictures, Dylan Clark Productions, and Genre Films have tapped Simon Kinberg to adapt Battlestar Galactica for film. The original TV series was created by Glen A. Larson.
Ridley Scott is making a Napoleon Bonaparte movie, written by David Scarpa. Scott will produce under his company Scott Free Productions, and Joaquin Phoenix is attached to star. The project is set up at Twentieth Century Studios.
Matthew A. Cherry is writing Tut for Sony Pictures Animation, based on an idea by Cherry and Monica A. Young. The story is an afro-futuristic, coming-of-age story inspired by the young Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. Cherry will also direct.
Disney is making a Space Mountain movie. Joby Harold is set to write.
Final Thoughts
As I said, this edition of The Breakdown was unplanned, so no real final thoughts about trends or the state of the industry. And I don’t usually include strait-up script sales (instead leaning more towards book-to-screen adaptations). However, there’s a good deal of information here about what’s selling across the publishing, adaptation, and film & TV market. Make note of themes that are catching the industry’s eye as well as comps that are being used for selling and positioning. Studying deals is a crucial part of learning about the industry, so enjoy!
Last reminder, if you’re a Premium Supporter, you can always submit your work for a First Five Pages or a Query Letter Review.
And yes, you can submit the next five pages of a story you previously submitted or a new work, if you’ve submitted before. Just know that new Premium Supporters submissions will take precedence.
The Breakdown - Workshop Submission Form
Until next time!
~ Paula
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