BFLA Open Week: Media Rights – How a Book gets Optioned

Written by Anna Myrmus

Getting your book optioned (and hopefully produced) as a film or television series can often be a process which, from the outside, seems shrouded in mystery, but there are a few key things to note.

Firstly, whether or not your book gets optioned is not always predictable from a publishing perspective. This is partly because film and television trends are often in stark contrast to publishing trends. So, while your book may have been written and edited taking into account the current hits on BookTok and in Waterstone’s, those often do not match up with what’s big on screen. Take, for example, romantasy: while it has had a huge boom in publishing, very few books except the top global bestsellers, who can guarantee a very large audience, will break through into television. 

So, how does the process work? Firstly, Book to Film agents, who are meeting with producers all the time, will assess the screen potential of a book and decide whether to actively submit it widely. To do this, they read the book, and, if they can see screen potential, write a submission letter. This letter is much like the one a book agent writes for publishers; it summarises and sells the book, often comparing it to other recent series or films. Then they’ll compile a list of producers who could be interested, based on recent meetings and market research, before sending it out.

There isn’t always a direct correlation between submitting a book widely and the book being optioned, however. Often a producer who options a book comes directly to the agent and there are several things which can trigger this. It could be a review; for example, we may submit a novel widely for months and get no interest, but then an amazing review in the New York Times pops up and multiple producers read it and now want to option the book. Or, maybe it suddenly becomes a bestseller. But even these moments don’t necessarily mean a book will get optioned; sometimes an obscure book can find its way into the lap of a filmmaker and become a passion project, through no graft on the part of the Book to Film agent. Though none of the above means that a Book to Film agent simply sits and waits for offers to come in.

Another key player in the optioning process is the book scout. A book scout gathers information for their clients (film and television producers). They aim to be across everything that’s happening in publishing, feeding their clients summaries and reports on books that might interest them. So, when submitting to producers, Book to Film agents will also submit to scouts, who will read and assess for their clients. Often one good assessment or recommendation from a scout, can lead to interest from one or two producers.

Once you have interest from one or more producers, the Book to Film agent will ask them for their creative proposal; how they see the adaptation, what kind of writer they would get to adapt it, which channels or platforms they imagine it on, and why they love the book etc. We then feed this proposal back to the author, and, if they want to, set up a meeting between them and the producer, so they can hear more and get a feel for them. If there are multiple producers interested, this can also be a way for the author to decide for or against a producer (for example, if they really don’t gel with the producer as a person). 

We then usually ask all producers interested to make a financial offer. If there is only one producer interested, however, we may ask them to make their offer financial from the outset, in order not to waste an author’s time.  Sometimes, if it’s a very small company interested in a book, we will let them know our minimum expectation, so that we don’t waste time on a lowball offer that we simply could never accept.

It’s at this point that negotiations begin. If there are multiple offers, we may ask all parties to improve their offers, sometimes all on different points, so that, in an ideal world, the author is only deciding on an editorial basis. However, this isn’t always the case, and an author may end up having to choose between a team they really want to work with and a bigger wad of cash. Once the author makes their choice, an agreement is negotiated by the Book to Film agent (which can take months) and a contract is finally signed. 

But what does it being optioned actually mean? Well, the company now has the exclusive right to buy the relevant rights in the book. So, they haven’t actually bought the book, but they’ve bought themselves a window to buy it. Within that window, they may attach a screenwriter and see if they can secure a broadcaster or financier, and then, if all goes well, buy the book. This option can also be extended multiple times so that the producer can buy themselves more time to put together their adaptation or present to buyers. If, in the end, they don’t exercise the option i.e. buy the rights, the author is free to get it optioned elsewhere, and the process starts all over again.

Blake Friedmann's Cultural Highlights 2023

It’s that time of year again where we reveal what books, films, TV programs, plays, places and pleasures the Blake Friedmann team have been hooked on outside of the BFLA-bubble over the past twelve months: our annual cultural highlights. Check out previous years here!

Ane reason

Art: The Modern Art Museum in Stockholm

I loved roaming through Moderna Museet with an old friend this autumn. The museum is located in a former navy drill hall on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm and contains a wide range of modern and contemporary art in various media. I didn’t manage to see the entire collection, so I hope I get a chance to revisit the museum again soon! 

Podcast: New York City Ballet’s Podcast

This year, I discovered the joy of listening to podcasts while going for long walks and travelling by train. I especially enjoyed the segment of the New York City Ballet’s podcast called New Combinations with Wendy Whelan in which the Associate Artistic Director speaks to the choreographers behind upcoming new works. It’s a great behind-the-scenes sneak peek and it always leaves me feeling inspired even on the greyest of days. 

Book: NIGHTCRAWLING by Leila Mottley

I know I’m late in discovering this book and that one of my colleagues already wrote about it last year, but I’m giving it another mention here, as – of all the books I read this year – this is the one that stayed with me long after I’d put it down. Many months after reading it, I’m still haunted by Kiara’s fight for survival in the underbelly of Oakland and the hypnotic musicality of her voice. It’s chilling and heartwarming in equal measure and I can’t recommend it enough. 

Anna myrmus

Play: PATRIOTS, Noël Coward Theatre.

One of my highlights this year was Patriots by Peter Morgan, which tells the story of the tragic rise and fall of Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky, played by Tom Hollander. I loved that the play was more Shakespearean than political, and was really about Berezovsky’s fatal flaw, underestimating the wrong man (the wrong man being Vladimir Putin). It felt timeless while being about a specific historical moment.

Film: OPPENHEIMER

I didn’t do Barbenheimer in one day, but I hate to admit that I preferred Oppenheimer to Barbie. It was just an epic story which surprisingly I found most interesting in the third act, after the bomb went off. It is mostly men talking, which isn’t usually my thing, but it was this time.

Travel: Malta

This year I went to Malta for the first time and had the best time. There was a lot of hiking, swimming, and eating, which I loved. The landscapes are stunning, so I would recommend it if you’re into hiking, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the food, unless you stick to the Maltese delicacies, which it’s often hard to do (I got served a pizza with a pile of tinned tuna and boiled egg on top). The people are also very friendly and love the English, which feels bizarre. My highlight was ending up in a bar full of Maltese old men who gave us free drinks and sang along to Robbie Williams and Queen all night.

Conrad williams

Magazine: International Piano Magazine

I cannot think of any other magazine I read cover to cover.  A new generation of classical pianists is coming to the ascendant, and IP has steered me towards recordings (and live performances) by the wonderful Lukas Geniušas, Saskia Giorgini, Paul Wee, Beatrice Rana and others. The legendary Bryce Morrison’s articles on controversial great pianists are a treat. The recent articles on music by Alkan have been literally snorted off the page. There are welcome sections on piano technique, interviews, and other morsels and delectables that send you waltzing to the piano for a bash or off in search of new CDs/sheet music.  This is my world, my tribe, and I am at home in its glorious pages like nowhere else.

Music: Concerto for Solo Piano by Charles Alkan

This epic masterpiece of the piano repertoire has been in my system since the 1970s when I first heard Ronald Smith’s HMV recording and was smitten. Mark Andre Hamelin’s gargantuan recording of 2006 I heard one evening this summer and was so cosmically excited by its superhuman pianism that I decided to learn the first movement (72 pages) for a second time.  I had a preliminary encounter with this movement in the 1990s, not unlike Caesar’s first invasion of Britain. Since then, I have been in thrall to its urgent, propulsive drama and forcing myself to go mano a mano with its Grendel-like technical terrors. Anyone intrigued by the sound of this Faustian masterpiece should listen to recordings by John Ogdon, Paul Wee, Hamelin or Smith.

Book: GHOSTED by Mark McCrum

This recent publication by a very old friend of mine is a slyly amusing read indeed. Within the conventions of cosy crime McCrum has insinuated a gift for humorously disobliging observation that has ever been his trademark. The voice is that of a maiden aunt of a certain age, beadily alive to the pretensions of her milieu.  The voice is channelled through the ghost of a man attending a funeral that he is shocked to discover is his own.  Did he really commit suicide? Not his style, surely!  The funeral speeches grate on his nerves: the posturing, insincerity, and flatulence.  He floats home for the wake and is none too pleased to see his business partner putting one over on his widow.  What the hell’s been going on, and why is he dead, dammit?
A forbidden treat for those of a certain world view and generation.

Daisy way

Television: COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS, BBC iPlayer

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show, but I ended up binge watching it in two sittings. Lead characters Ashley and Gordon are strangers who are unexpectedly brought together by a minor car accident and an injured dog, who they name Colin. Clever, charming and funny in equal measure, it was a delight from start to finish.

Theatre: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Almeida Theatre

My first visit to the Almeida was an excellent one! Paul Mescal as Stanley was brilliant as always, but it was Patsy Ferran as Blanche who stole the show for me. A phenomenal performance ­– I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage even for a moment.

Book: THE ISLAND OF MISSING TREES by Elif Shafak

A magical, moving novel set between 1970s Cyprus and 2010s London, capturing the forbidden young love between teenagers, one a Greek Cypriot and the other a Turkish Cypriot, with the two timelines tied together by narrative from the unique perspective of a fig tree. Lyrical, enchanting and moving, this novel is a heartbreaking reminder of how the terrible effects of war can reverberate down generations.

Finlay charlesworth

Theatre: A MIRROR, Almeida Theatre

I was once again spoiled by the quality of the London theatre scene this year, and honourable mentions must go to Guys and Dolls at The Bridge, The Kiln’s Wife of Willesden and The Old Vic’s Pygmalion – but A Mirror takes the nod as the most surprising, intelligent and unexpected piece of theatre I saw last year, bolstered by an outstanding cast of Jonny Lee Miller, Tanya Reynolds, Micheal Ward and Geoffrey Streatfield. It's about a wedding. Don’t ask any more questions, it’s pointless knowing any more. Just go see it – it’s coming to the West End in 2024.

Music: Spotify Wrapped

An outrageous quantity of superb music was released in 2023 and I really, seriously couldn’t narrow it down. How can you even try to compare Young Fathers’ Heavy Heavy to Kokoroko’s Could We Be More, or Feist’s Multitudes to Ben Howard’s Is It? So this pick goes out to Ezra Collective and to Elephant Sessions, and Lana Del Rey, and Self Esteem, and The National, and Maribou State, and Breabach, and Fionn Regan, and Explosions in the Sky and many others – and to Spotify for chewing up my data and having the cheek to make me feel grateful for it.

Book: POOR THINGS by Alasdair Gray

The simple recycled description of ‘Frankenstein meets Pygmalion” does little justice to this wicked, hilarious book from 1992: a truly radical and unique piece of writing that combines unexpected warmth, humour and humanity with the shocking and grotesque and bracing, boundless feminist and socialist undercurrents. Gray’s characters are unlike any I have read before, and he brings Victorian Europe to life – in particular his beloved Glasgow – in vivid detail, supported on both fronts by his exceptional, meticulous illustrations that pepper the book.

I also caught a preview of next year’s Poor Things film adaptation – a hilarious, outrageous take on the book that both honours and reinvents the source material, stunningly realised for the screen and anchored by Emma Stone’s incredible performance – but for the full visceral, unbelievable experience, start with Gray’s masterpiece.

Isobel dixon

Book: THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN by Thomas Mann

My Very-Long-Book Book Group has inspired me to tackle (and thoroughly enjoy) some monumental tomes over the last year – helped along by lively dinner discussions and some excellent audiobooks (though with manuscript reading to juggle as well, I’m still the slowcoach of the crew). My favourite so far is the third we read: Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, which held me in its grip over many weeks – a slow ascent and lingering sojourn which has stayed with me very vividly, helped on by the echoes of David Rintoul’s excellent narration.

Festival: Crossing Border

Crossing Border Festival in The Hague, coming hot on the heels of Frankfurt Book Fair, is always a very special music and literature gathering. This year I was especially struck by thought-provoking events with Teju Cole, Adania Shibli, Max Porter and Zadie Smith, but also grateful for deep, challenging and sustaining conversations with writers and international publishing friends, away from the auditoria - and some late-night dancing for the soul as well.

A joyful televisual double: Strictly Come Dancing & the Rugby World Cup Final

In a harsh and distressing season, there was intermittent consolation to be found in the non-verbal world: Strictly Come Dancing is always a joyful antidote to the shorter, darker, wintry days, and this year more than ever. I was very glad to be back from a family trip to South Africa in time to catch the spectacular final. But another, earlier final was even more heart-lifting – the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup, after putting supporters through the mill three times in a row, with narrow, nailbiting wins. It was worth every nerve-shredding moment, especially with captain Siya Kolisi’s inspiring leadership, a powerful reminder of past peace-making and the ongoing work of hope.

James pusey

Travel: Camino de Santiago

A long walk from La Coruña to Santiago de Compostela in early summer loosened the ligaments and blew away some cobwebs. The route took me and five fellow pilgrims through Galicia’s green countryside and dropped us off in front of the stunning cathedral of St James.

Book: THUNDERCLAP by Laura Cumming

The most memorable book I read this year. Intertwining the stories of Carel Fabritius (painter of ‘The Goldfinch’) and the author’s own artist father, the book made substantive use of the slim archival record to produce an illuminating and moving narrative of the conditions in which art was made in 17th-century Holland.

TV: Picasso: The Beauty and the Beast, BBC

The BBC2 documentary series viewed the artist’s achievements alongside his troubling relationships with women. Although we perhaps don’t need reminding that great artists are not always good people, the series seemed to me to handle a great deal of source material, and a wide range of interviewees, in a judicious and even-handed way. Thoughtful and thought provoking.

Julian friedmann

TV: SLOW HORSES        

This is actually from the end of last year but it was the first TV series I ever binge-watched (4 episodes a night over 3 nights). Brilliant casting and a wonderfully nuanced riff on a slightly tired spy-thriller genre. Am planning to binge watch again this Christmas when there is a new season – I might have to start at the beginning, however.

Recipe: Confit of Duck

Decades ago, Carole Blake and I spent every summer in S W France where confit was a speciality. Ken Hom taught me to cook it, but I had not done so for years until it was my turn to decide what to cook as my contribution for the large family gatherings this Christmas (12 grandkids and 12 adults: not all at once this year; instead over several meals). So I found a simpler recipe and tried it: worked a treat. You cook them ahead of the day and freeze them; on the day thaw and put in the oven for 10 mins in foil and 5 mins uncovered.

Book: THE COMING WAVE by Mustafa Suleyman

This is about AI and describes it as “the 21st Century’s greatest dilemma”. I did a workshop on using ChatGPT to write a TV series pitch document and found it fascinating. I use it more than I use Google. But, like so many, the implications for the world at large are very two-sided: if it can be used for good it can also be used for bad. Am halfway through reading this book and while I don't think we need to panic, we cannot be complacent. And that is quite apart from training the AI by scraping copyright material. I don't believe there is a breach of copyright, but we don't even have the words to describe some of this new stuff. However the OED has, I believe, accepted the use of the word ‘hallucinating’ for when AI just makes stuff up because it doesn’t know what to say!

Juliet pickering

Book: MAPS OF OUR SPECTACULAR BODIES by Maddie Mortimer

I was recommended this book ages ago and then, predictably, completely forgot about it and re-discovered it when browsing my local bookshop. Had I remembered that it was a story of mothers and daughters where cancer is also a character I may have been scared off, but as it was I went into the novel with no particular expectations, and fell headlong into this clever, sharp, devastating story. The characters are spiky and surprising, and feeling what they’re going through in the most authentic (it seemed to me) ways. There’s so much packed in here, and yet it’s light and playful as well as heavy and dark. A stunning piece of writing and completely consuming read.

Music: City of Bristol Brass Band

I recently went to see the City of Bristol Brass Band playing Christmas tunes (including the soundtrack to The Snowman alongside screening the film) and I’ve never seen such unrestrained dancing and joyful flinging-limbs-about from my 4-year-old. It was a really special event, and the band were so friendly, fun and festive.

Book: WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Catherine Newman

The New York Times described this book as ‘excruciatingly heartbreaking’ and it really is, but it is also deeply, darkly funny in the absurd and painful ways that only real life can be. It’s the story of best-friendship that I’ve been looking for, for a long time, and it absolutely nails what it is to know your best friend in a bone-deep sense, and see all your best and worst traits in each other. Like Maps… above, it deals with huge love and loss, but it’s done so exquisitely and humorously that I gladly devoured every word and emotion. I can’t recommend it enough, but find a place to read it where you can cry your eyes out and no one will interrupt you.

Special mention to Adventuremice, the gorgeously illustrated books by Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve; they have such an innocent sense of adventure and amazement at the world, and are perfect for reading aloud.

Kate burke

TV: THE LAST OF US, HBO

I love it when a random (well, to me, anyway – I wasn’t aware of the game it’s based on!) TV show pops up and is just excellent from the outset. While I’m always a fan of a post-apocalyptic story, The Last of Us felt more character-driven to me and unpredictable plot-wise, and I loved everyone in it. Episode Three was particularly brilliant, in that it sort of stood apart from the first two and was its own mini story, and a tragic one at that. I definitely had tears in my eyes…

Theatre: CABARET, The KitKat Club  

I adore Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s music and have seen her sing live before, but went to see Cabaret with some trepidation (not being a big musical fan and not knowing that she could act!). She was fantastic – as was the whole cast – and this was a fun and hectic yet also poignant show to see in the theatre. I didn’t really know the story or the songs but loved it from start to finish! It felt like a bit of a cultural moment to see Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) and Jake Shears together on stage for this limited run.

Film: ANATOMY OF A FALL 

I found a lot of films (and cinema experiences) this year over-hyped and disappointing, but I went to see Anatomy of a Fall with no preconceived notions, and not knowing much about it. It’s a slow burn sort of family drama type of thriller with no real conclusion but it’s engaging and tense the whole way through, particularly in the courtroom scenes. It felt fresh and different, and I loved the constant switch from French to English and back again. Would highly recommend!

Nicole etherington

Exhibition: DAVID HOCKNEY: DRAWING FROM LIFE

I recently went to the National Portrait Gallery’s Hockney exhibition, which had initially been on show in 2020 but was cut short by the Covid Pandemic. NPG restaged the show and included Hockney’s more recent Normandy paintings. I’m a longtime admirer of Hockney’s work – his paintings and later iPad drawings are so vibrant and have always been incredibly joyful to me – but it was interesting to see how prolific he was with a sketchbook during the pandemic years and also to see his monochrome works.

Book: IN MEMORIAM by Alice Winn

I have been a slow reader this year, but I devoured most of In Memoriam in one sitting. I was struck by how young and painfully naïve the characters are at the start of the novel and how this is eroded, spending their formative years in the trenches, confronted daily by the realities of war.

Trip: Buje/Piran

Summer took me to Buje, a Croatian town on the border with Slovenia. Istria is renowned for its truffles (of which I ate many) and its picturesque towns and landscapes. Highlights of my stay included a visit to the hilltop town of Motovun and a day trip to the Slovenian port town Piran where I had some of the best pasta I’ve ever eaten (in a restaurant called Rostelin).

Sian ellis-martin

Book: REALLY GOOD, ACTUALLY BY MONICA HEISEY

This book sat on my shelf for a while after I received it in a book subscription box; I’d read so many novels narrated by anxious or depressed millennial women trying to find themselves and felt disappointed by most of them. So even when I did pick this up to read, I was sceptical about whether I’d actually like it. But I really couldn’t put it down. Heisey approaches the topic of a marriage breakup with the perfect balance of humour and stark honesty, and I often found myself in awe of the way she could take me from laughter on one page to tears on the next. If you’re a Nora Ephron fan, this book is for you!

TV: THE LAST OF US, HBO

The Last of Us is the perfect blend of gory horror and harrowing, emotional scenes. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are both amazing and the development of their relationship throughout the episodes is finely crafted and extremely moving. The big zombie moments are impactful, but it’s the humanity at the heart of the show that did it for me.

TV: TOP BOY, Channel 4/Netflix

I hadn’t seen Top Boy until this year when I binged it from start to finish in an embarrassingly short amount of time. There are some scenes that I can still see so vividly in my mind (the fire, Jaq and Lauryn fighting in the bedroom, Jamie…) because of the stellar cast and acting and the authenticity of the writing. One of the best watches this year for sure, but also probably one of my all-time favourites.

In 2024 I’m looking forward to seeing Ryan Calais Cameron’s For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Garrick Theatre next year. I’ve heard really good things and was so pleased that it’s coming back for a limited run in 2024.

Susie bloor

Book: THE CELESTINE PROPHECY by James Redfield

An adventure of self-discovery through the sequential unfolding of 9 key insights, discovered in an ancient manuscript in Peru, which were banned by the Church, and kept secretly.  My father handed me this book which I read as a younger woman, and I found the story to be captivating, exploring the unknown questions in life: why are we here? what’s our purpose? 

Now as an older woman and re-reading this book, I found a deeper connection and understanding of how it allows you to make sense of synchronicities that happen in life. No such thing as coincidence.

TV: NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service)

This year I have enjoyed watching the series NCIS. A crime drama based around the deaths of US Naval personnel, both myself and my partner love to hazard a guess as to ‘whodunnit’. As with all, getting to know the characters is paramount to the enjoyment:  Abby, the eccentric Goth and animal loving Forensic Scientist; Ziva, the Israeli Assassin on loan from Mossad; Special Agent McGee, the computer whizz kid; Gibbs, Lead Agent, ex-marine sniper and father to all; and my favourite, Tony De DiNozzo – a fierce film buff who is always referencing lines from famous films.

Place: Benidorm

Benidorm is an ever-capturing beautiful stretch of sand, sea, and sky in Spain. Staying in Canfelli, situated at the top of the hill in the Old Town, next to the Castle Viewpoint, also known as ‘The Balcony of the Mediterranean', and next to San Jamie Church, built in the 18th Century, provided a beautiful and tranquil setting, to not only have fun, but to relax and re-charge, all in a matter of just a few days which felt more like a few weeks, finding myself getting lost amongst the crooked lanes, filled with shops, tapas bars and restaurants.

Tabitha topping

Book: BIOGRAPHY OF X by Catherine Lacey

I found it very difficult to just pick one book here (and spent a lot of time dithering over other, equally worthy titles) but eventually landed on Biography of X by Catherine Lacey – a novel that I haven’t been able to shake since reading in the Spring.  In an alternative America, a widow writes a biography of her recently deceased artist wife. But what is true and what is not?  Many have commented on its formal innovation, the way it interrogates the nature of biography, love and grief – and yes, while all that is true, it is also just a really enjoyable read.

Podcast: YOU ARE GOOD

Initially conceived as a way to talk about their complicated relationships with their fathers and men in general via the medium of film, You Are Good has since broadened their mandate and they are now a ‘feelings podcast about movies’. The concept is simple: a guest will bring their favourite film to the podcast and then they talk about why they love it – feelings and all. It’s really truly lovely – no snobbery or pretension – and when a film touches on a sensitive topic they discuss it with such empathy and thoughtfulness I often cry.  Warm, funny and extremely comforting. A hug in podcast form.

Film: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

I cannot believe I got through 26 years without having seen this (family ­– friends – how could you do this to me?). An almost perfect musical. An awkward bespectacled man makes a Faustian bargain with a carnivorous plant bent on world domination so he can win the girl of his dreams? Sign me up! It also happens to have an excellent soundtrack and Steve Martin (in perhaps his greatest ever role) playing a sadistic dentist.

In 2024 I’m looking forward to books! So many books! In particular Like Love: Essays and Conversations by Maggie Nelson. Like many, I was thrilled by the way her memoir The Argonauts dismantled binaries, exploring ideas of love, language and family making, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the latest collection of her essays – out May 2024 from Fern Press.

BFLA Open Week: Media Rights - The Inside Scoop

Written by Anna Myrmus

How our work is split between IP and screenwriters

The Media Department really serves two roles at Blake Friedmann: primary agenting for our media clients and facilitating Book to Film/TV options for the wider agency’s book clients.

On the media side, that means finding screenwriting talent, developing that talent, and pitching and submitting scripts to producers, before hopefully negotiating deals based on those scripts.

On the Book to Film side, since we’re not the primary agents, we don’t develop the material with authors (we leave that to the Book Department!) but we actively submit books to producers, based on what we’re hearing from them in meetings. So, in a way, we do assess material, but only for its Book-to-Film potential. We then negotiate the option agreements for Film and TV, to make sure our authors are getting the best deal possible.

Finding screenwriters

Sourcing screenwriters happens in many ways. The first is through the submissions we receive to our media submissions email. We also find writers by regularly attending different events like showcases, fringe theatre nights, and networking drinks. And on top of that, we try and keep on top of certain screenwriting competitions like the BBC Writers room to find emerging talent.

When it comes to submissions, we always ask for a CV and cover letter as well as a script. The CV is a way of finding out the work a writer has done so far, including any credits they might already have. I always like when the CV includes a list of their scripts, even if they’re uncredited, so we know which projects we could work on with them initially (if we were to like their sample script). The cover letter is a chance for us to hear more about a writer’s background and the kind of stories they want to write, and why they think we could be the agents for them.

When we read a script that we love from a writer, we’ll ask them for other samples, so we can get a sense of their style. Then, if we feel passionately about their work overall, we’ll arrange to meet to talk through our feedback, plus to hear about their ambitions for their writing, i.e., the kind of show or films they would like to write for and why. It’s also always useful to find out which producers they may already have spoken to or submitted to, so that if we do take them on, we know who we could build further relationships with, and who not to double submit to!

If that all goes well and we take on a writer, the first step is developing the script that we’ll send out to producers.

Developing writers’ scripts

When we submit a TV pilot to a producer, we usually submit it with a pitch document, which gives the producer the writer’s vision for the series. The pitch document outlines the story, the main characters, the first series’ arc, why it’s relevant now, why the writer should be the one to write it, plus any other pertinent information. So, when we develop a project with a screenwriter, we are developing not only the pilot script but the pitch document. This is because often a pilot script can be amazing, but if the story doesn’t have the legs to span a whole series, it’s hard to get producers interested. In fact, when pitching for TV, the idea is often just as important as the sample.

Developing a script and its pitch document usually involves a few rounds of notes, depending on how structural the changes needed are. The more the overall story needs work, the more work will need to be done. For this reason, we usually prefer to work with a writer on a pitch before they write the pilot, so that we can help craft the outline, and because often if we know an idea will be a very hard sell, it’s best we guide them before they write the whole pilot.

Then once a script and pitch document are ready, we’ll submit them, along with our own submission letter, to the producers who we know could be interested.

Assessing IP

Being active on books means submitting them to producers who we know are interested in that kind of IP. When we’ve read a Blake Friedmann book that we want to be active on, we craft a submission letter which we hope will get the producer to want to read the book. The letter usually starts with some information about the writer (for example, if they’ve written other books, we’ll talk about the success they’ve had and perhaps where they’ve been optioned for film and TV). Then we tease the plot and make comparisons to recent TV series or Film so the producers know where the book could fit on their development slate.

Then, based on the relationships we’ve built with producers, and the recent meetings we’ve been having, we submit this letter via email to those whose taste we think aligns with the book.

However, just because we’re not active on a book doesn’t mean it can’t be optioned. There are often wonderful books which we’ve loved but which are less commercial in terms of Film and TV. With these books, we tend to keep them in mind in meetings, and pitch them on an ad hoc basis, especially if a producer mentions the genre or subject matter to us. And indeed, with those books often an option deal happens when a very passionate producer comes forward, independent of our submissions. So not submitting a book doesn’t mean it won’t get optioned.

Meeting producers

On top of submitting new books and scripts, we also keep all that material in mind when meeting with producers. Having both the Book to Film and screenwriting sides to our work means that we get to wear both hats in these meetings and pitch a whole range of material, depending on what the producer tells us.

Meeting producers is really for us to find out what different production companies are looking for, so we know what to submit where, and for us to build relationships in the industry which will help our writers going forward.

We’re constantly setting up meeting with producers, whether that’s because they’ve sent us a new brief, we have new material to catch them up on, or because we’re both attending events like Content London or Series Mania.

BFLA Staff’s Cultural Highlights of 2022

LIZZY ATTREE

THINGS THEY LOST - Okwiri Oduor (Oneworld, 2022)

Photograph by Lizzy Attree

This is my first pick and I wrote a full review in the Guardian earlier this year: It’s worth repeating here that Oduor is an extraordinary writer, and her debut novel is packed with magic.

GLORY – No Violet Bulawayo (Chatto, 2022)

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year, Bulawayo’s second novel GLORY focuses on the “Crocodile” that has stalked Zimbabwe since the end of the 15-year war of independence in 1979 and the rise of the dominant political party, ZANU–PF (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front). Robert Mugabe is, for Bulawayo, the crocodile who ate the sun — as Peter Godwin described him in his 2006 book — yet the presence of other villains nurtured during ZANU–PF’s long stranglehold on power means that the current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, presents an even greater danger to Zimbabwe today. Shocking, funny and lyrical it’s worth the read.

THE FURROWS – Namwali Serpell (Hogarth, 2022)

My first thought on reading THE FURROWS is that the book is just devastating. The descriptions of simple tragedies are emotionally overwhelming. Completely different from her debut novel THE OLD DRIFT, Serpell declares on the cover that she doesn’t want to tell a story of what happened, but how it felt, which is an unusual mode to select, but makes sense when it comes to the subject of grief, which is a difficult emotion to navigate. The story that unfolds describes the recovery of a sibling whose lost brother haunts her dreams and puts her on a collision course with a doppleganger who isn’t quite who he seems to be.

Next year I’m looking forward to: DAZZLING – Chikodili Emelumadu (Headline, 2023)

KATE BURKE

TV series: THE WILDS

Having binge-watched most of the big and buzzy TV series of the year, I came across this Amazon Prime series, recommended by an author on Twitter, and I absolutely inhaled the two series (sadly, it was cancelled after that). It's about a group of teenagers who survive a plane crash so it's a bit like LOST meets YELLOW JACKETS but there's more to it than that (no spoilers!) and I found it to be really gripping fun. Definitely one of the best things I've seen this year. So, here's my plug for this lesser-known gem! 

Film: TOP GUN: MAVERICK

My film of the year! Such great entertainment - amazing stunts, great action and just enough nods back to the (far inferior, in my opinion) original. It surpassed my expectations and while I know it would sound much cooler to say that EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE was probably the best film of the year (!), for me, it was MAVERICK. 

Live music: PET SHOP BOYS

It had been a couple of years since I had been to a gig and this one-off charity show at Camden's Electric Ballroom was an absolute treat! A surprise gift from my other half, I only found out I was going just days before the concert. It was so nice to be back in a room with a slightly sticky floor, plastic cups of beer and a crowd that knew every single word to their songs. 

FINLAY CHARLESWORTH

Book: TRESPASSES by Louise Kennedy (Bloomsbury)

A lucky friend from the North of Ireland managed to get hold of a proof of this way back in 2021, and until it had come out in the UK and she had sold every last person in our social circle a copy, she did not pipe down about it once. Thankfully, it was worth the noise.

A staggering, heart-breaking read about love and fear in 1970s Belfast that never raises its voice, undermines or mistreats the reader – just laying bare the tender-menacing reality as it plays out.

Photograph by Finlay Charlesworth

Play: CYRANO DE BERGERAC at the Harold Pinter Theatre, dir. Jamie Lloyd, freely adapted by Martin Crimp

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some amazing actors on stage this year – Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Simon Russell Beale and Emma Corrin to name a few – but James McAvoy’s CYRANO stands out, a supreme performance combining muscular wit and cunning with a genuine soft, caring affection.

The new version of Edmund de Rostand’s play by Martin Crimp and Jamie Lloyd set him free with their mercurial script and staging – fast, irreverent, intricate, and never less than totally captivating.

Series: BAD SISTERS (Apple TV+)

Do I think watching and reading things about immensely silly murders make it less likely I’ll be bumped off? Possibly. For the likes of FARGO, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING and BAD SISTERS, I’m happy to keep testing the theory.

BAD SISTERS keeps things fresh by telling you right at the start exactly who did it – but bouncing between the before and after to leave us asking how did they do it and will they get away with it?

Regularly took me from side-splitting laughter to jaw-dropping horror in seconds – fantastic.

Next year I’m looking forward to: THE MOON IS TRENDING by Clare Fisher (Salt, out 15th June). Clare was my very first guest lecturer as a fresh-faced create writing undergrad back in Leeds, and the first person I ever really associated with the short story – and since their last short story collection, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN (Influx) came out in 2018, I’ve re-read it about four times and gifted fresh copies twice. To say I’m excited about THE MOON IS TRENDING, their new collection, would be an understatement.

Photograph by Isobel Dixon

ISOBEL DIXON

Travel: NEW MEXICO

Six years ago, my Picks of the Year included the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at Tate Modern, an agency summer outing which spoke to my long fascination with O’Keeffe’s paintings and her love of the New Mexico landscape – so reminiscent of the expanses of the Karoo where I grew up. A work not in that exhibition was The Lawrence Tree her striking image of the large ponderosa pine D.H. Lawrence sat and wrote under during his time in in New Mexico. One day, I thought, I’d see it – the painting and the tree itself. Late in that 2016 summer I’d also read and loved Out of Sheer Rage, Geoff Dyer’s wonderful, artful wrestle with Lawrence, himself, writing and not writing. This year saw a confluence of these two streams as (after pandemic postponements) I finally made it to the 15TH INTERNATIONAL D.H. LAWRENCE CONFERENCE in Taos, fell in love with the landscapes of New Mexico and sat happily a while under that ‘overshadowing’, ‘guardian angel’ tree. A week in Taos, walking among the pines on the D. H. Lawrence Ranch and learning more about New Mexico’s Native American communities was book-ended by two visits to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe and a trip out to her homes at Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú. All this, with the friends I made along the way, made for a major memorable journey of the last few years. A Santa Fe poem about apricots and Georgia O’Keeffe fell into my lap as a result.

Events: BOOK FAIRS

It was a year of slow revival, and the return of other Covid-suspended festivals and book fairs suspended made for many significant reunions – I appreciated a return to a fuller FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR, a first trip to Gothenburg Book Fair with several authors, and being in Glasgow and Edinburgh again around the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Book: WEST by Carys Davies

For more interior journeys, the novel that struck me most in its humanity, beauty and quiet power was Carys Davies’ WEST.

SIAN ELLIS- MARTIN

Event: WOMEN’S EURO 2022

I loved watching the Women’s Euro tournament this year. It was really inspiring to watch women from around the world play on an international stage and to finally get the screen time they deserve. And… it finally came home!

Book: PLAIN BAD HEROINES by Emily M. Danforth

A gothic, queer, cleverly written story with a haunting mystery at its heart. It was addictive reading and I couldn’t put it down.

TV: DEAD TO ME

I was a bit slow off the mark with this one and didn’t start season one until season three had come out. What a ride! Dead to Me is the perfect combination of funny, poignant and dramatic. Despite the absolute insanity of it, I binged the whole thing (and cried for the entirety of the last episode). The intricacies of Jen and Judy’s relationship are beautiful to watch, and Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are amazing throughout all three seasons.

JULIAN FRIEDMANN

TV: BIG OIL VS THE WORLD, BBC TV (3 parts)

I started researching the anti-climate change lobby as part of the research for Dr Stephen Oppenheimer’s next book THE FOURTH FLOOD and was shocked at how blatant the lobby has been. This is nowhere better shown than in the three-part BBC documentary series BIG OIL vs THE WORLD. “The age of fossil fuels is far from over.” “What climate change means to me is looking in the eyes of my grandchildren, and wondering what kind of hell they’re going to pay?” Jane McMullen’s trilogy on the fossil fuel lobby deserves the Nobel Prize, such is the urgency of the issue, yet we are sleepwalking towards a global disaster.

Object: A HEATED COFFEE MUG WARMER

This really come into its own this December. It was given to me as a Christmas present last year: research shows that the USB warmers do not get hot enough. This one runs from mains and has three temperature settings. Highly recommended.

Photograph by Julian Friedmann

Travel: ICELAND

A bucket-list holiday to see volcanoes, geysers, the aurora, glaciers and ice caves (deep underneath glaciers) curated by New Scientist magazine (who knew they did holidays?) was a spectacular success.

SAMUEL HODDER

Book: WHY YOU LIKE THIS PHOTO: THE SCIENCE OF PERCEPTION by Brian Dilg (Ilex Press)

I devour photography books, but this little book was still full of revelations. Brian Dilg is a celebrated cinematographer and photographer, and here he uses discoveries in psychology and neuroscience to explain how perception works and the ways in which the human eye differs from a camera and its processes. It’s a fascinating subject and this short book is packed full of information that photographers can use to make their own work stronger.

Place: THE RUINS OF XANTHOS (Turkey)

Photograph by Samuel Hodder

I’m drawn to ruins – the older the better – like a cat is to catnip, and it was a delight to explore this ancient site in the countryside in the south of Turkey. I’d been intrigued by Xanthos, once a major Lycian city, since I first saw some of its treasures in the British Museum, including the glorious Nereid Monument. Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dating to the 8th century BC, Xanthos was almost deserted when I visited, and I could explore its remarkably well-preserved ruins in silence without any distraction. Below is a photo of the entrance to the amphitheatre. Xanthos is the site of the first recorded mass suicide in history: in 540 BC almost all the city’s population took their own lives when the city was about to fall to an invading Persian army.

Book: THE FIVE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER by Hallie Rubenhold (Black Swan)

I came to this a little late, picking up the book after hearing Hallie Rubenhold talk at an event at the British Library this summer, and it became one of my favourite books of the year. It centres the victims of Jack the Ripper, correcting the marginalising and dismissive narratives that were placed upon them at the time. Despite being rigorously researched it has the pace of a thriller and it is deeply moving, too.

In 2023 I’m looking forward to: DUNE 2 directed by Denis Villeneuve! Earlier this year, I had been looking forward to DUNE so much that I was a little worried I would be disappointed. But I loved it: epic, sumptuous cinematography; exciting storytelling, and a brilliant cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac and Charlotte Rampling.

Photograph by Hana Murrell

HANA MURRELL

VILLA CARMIGNAC on Porquerolles Island

The island itself is a jewel off the Provençal coast – protected by National Park status, where cars and new builds aren’t allowed, and everyone walks or cycles between the charming village centre and beautiful beaches, passing by vineyards. I particularly enjoyed visiting the Villa Carmignac, a contemporary art gallery set in sprawling gardens, where you’ll find striking sculptures hidden behind gnarly old olive trees.

KAWANABE KYŌSA exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts

My mum and I really enjoyed this exhibition of Japanese painter Kawanabe Kyōsai’s work from the 19th century. Exquisitely wrought landscapes and animals were more familiar to me and reminiscent of other famous Japanese painters’ work, but the traditional scroll paintings depicting western visitors to Japan going around in top hats were a revelation. His fantastical, otherworldly creatures were also an arresting sight.

VORTEX JAZZ CLUB in Dalston

Local to me and to the office, I discovered their late-night Saturday jam session recently, and highly recommend it to anyone who fancies listening to a bunch of very talented jazz musicians for a great-value £5, in a causal and friendly space.

ANNA MYRMUS

Film: BONES AND ALL

I think surprise is something that always makes a film, or a book stick out for me and BONES AND ALL did nothing but surprise me. I went in not knowing anything about the film, specifically not knowing the two main characters were cannibals, so you can imagine my shock when Taylor Russell gnawed down on her classmate’s finger about five minutes in. But more than that I spent the whole film in awe of Luca Guadagnino, who left me similarly amazed by CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, because he managed to make a film that was thrilling, beautiful, disgusting, and romantic all at the same time.

Travel: CUBA

Photograph by Anna Myrmus

One of the highlights of my year was going to Cuba in July. Cuba is a beautiful country, and the landscape was breathtaking. We particularly enjoyed our time spent in the rural town of Viñales, where we went horse-riding twice, once at sunrise. The silence was astounding, especially having come from London. Cuba wasn’t the easiest place to travel but everyone was very warm and welcoming, and I really treasured our conversations with our hosts, taxi drivers and tour guides, who were always so open to chatting about everything from their life during covid to football.

JULIET PICKERING

Book: BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry

I’m sure nearly everyone has heard of TikTok sensation Emily Henry; I picked up BOOK LOVERS to see what the fuss was about, and to my great delight/horror discovered that the main character was a literary agent. Literary agent characters are NEVER glam and usually pretty boring, but this one was quick and funny, and even I could suspend the disbelief at her falling for a moody, handsome publishing editor… Definitely fiction, but sexy, romantic and a joyful escape. Loved it!

TV: COUPLES THERAPY (BBC iPlayer)

I’m nosy, and always fascinated by the emotional dynamics between two people, so this documentary/reality show about real couples in counselling in New York, had me completely hooked. The second series was particularly absorbing as the covid pandemic hit, and forced everyone into lockdown, both bringing people together and forcing them apart. Soooo much better than Love Island - this is love in its grittiest form!

TV: THE MOLE AGENT (Storyville, BBC iPlayer)

I’m still an emotional wreck after watching this a few weeks ago. I don’t want to give away too much except to say that this starts out by being about an 83 year-old man sent into a Chilean nursing home as a mole, reporting on what he witnesses there via a succession of clumsy voice notes and videos, and then becomes a film about remarkable kindness. Devastating in the best (happy/sad) ways. 

In 2023 I’m looking forward to ROMANTIC COMEDY from Curtis Sittenfeld. ELIGIBLE was a lot of fun, so I’m very hopeful about this novel and all the title promises.

JAMES PUSEY

Art: EDVARD MUNCH: MASTERPIECES FROM BERGEN at the Courtauld. Small, powerful exhibition of 18 paintings rarely seen together outside Norway.

Sport: ICC Men’s T20 WORLD CUP CRICKET. Great England win Down Under.

TV: CANAL BOAT DIARIES. Adventures along Britain's waterways with film-maker and musician Robbie Cumming aboard his narrowboat, The Naughty Lass.

ANE REASON

Dance and music: FLIGHT PATTERN

Earlier this year, I signed up to the Royal Opera House’s new streaming service, which offers a large number of ballet and opera performances and behind-the-scenes features. It’s a brilliant way to access footage during my few fleeting moments of free time. Although the service doesn’t replace the experience of attending live performances, it does offer some unique advantages, such as being able to rewatch favourite moments and catch nuances that would have been lost without the aid of close-ups. It’s difficult to choose a favourite from such an extensive archive, but I particularly enjoyed Flight Pattern, a contemporary ballet by Crystal Pite, about the refugee crisis. 

Photograph by Ane Reason

Art: ASHMOLEUM MUSEUM
It has been a while since I went to a museum in person, so I loved visiting the Ashmolean Museum and seeing their Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. There were some spectacular large paintings on display and I enjoyed seeing some of the well-known masterpieces in real life, but the highlights for me were the small drawings, such as the intimate portraits the Pre-Raphaelites made of each other and their studies for paintings. 

CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Growing up in Norway, most of my books were written by Scandinavian authors. It has therefore been exciting to discover a wider range of children’s literature while reading to my daughter in the evenings. Our current household favourites include Frog and Toad, Daddy Lost His Head, The Enormous Crocodile, The Gruffalo’s Child and The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear. 

ROYA SARRAFI-GOHAR

Book: FREE by Lea Ypi (Allen Lane)

A memoir about the author’s childhood in Albania: first we see the anxious, paranoid atmosphere under the Hoxha regime through the eyes of a child who is quick to believe her teachers, and a little more curious than her parents would like. Then, when the regime falls, and political freedom arrives, we see the real human cost of the economic ‘shock therapy’ that followed: unemployment, bankruptcies, a civil war and refugee crisis.

Event: OPEN HOUSE FESTIVAL

I loved how the Open House festival allowed me to see the city I’ve lived in for so long with fresh eyes. A highlight for me was the derelict waterworks at New River Head, soon to be the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. It featured an exhibition of imagined histories of people who lived around the New River, based on found objects, by Laura Copsey and Philip Crewe, with photos ‘taken’ by the New River itself (photographic film left in the river). I learned that the history of water infrastructure in the city is much more interesting than I’d realised.

Film: THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (Joachim Trier)

A film about the mundane crises around turning thirty, which I also did this year -- it’s playful, fun, and almost corny. But it captures the doubt, anxiety and longing so well that it feels very compellingly human.

TABITHA TOPPING

Novel: MAPS OF OUR SPECTACULAR BODIES by Maddie Mortimer (Picador)

I really loved the way this novel played with form and language and am excited to see what Maddie writes next.

Poetry: AMNION by Stephanie Sy-Quia (Granta)

The kind of work that as soon as I finished it I wanted to go back to the beginning and read all over again.

Extra-curricular: EVENING ART CLASS

Signing up for a beginner’s art class was a spur-of-the-moment decision but one I’m so glad I did. Initially apprehensive (I hadn’t done any art since school), it quickly became the highlight of my week – and though not every one of my creations was successful (my cloud sculpture made of chicken wire and plaster apparently resembled a ‘sea-slug or a dead animal… but in a good way’), I had so much fun that I am seriously considering signing up for another class next year!

2023 Pick: ARRANGEMENTS IN BLUE by Amy Key (Jonathan Cape)

I really enjoyed Amy’s collection ISN’T FOREVER and am looking forward to picking up her memoir which is shaped around Joni Mitchell’s album ‘Blue’. While I have a soft spot for blue-themed books (e.g. BLUETS by Maggie Nelson), the fact that pretty much everyone I follow on social media is raving about how moving and beautiful ARRANGEMENTS IN BLUE is, has made me even more excited to read it.

DAISY WAY

Book: NIGHTCRAWLING by Leila Mottley

An incredible debut written when Mottley was still a teenager, making her the youngest author to ever be longlisted for the Booker Prize – and with good reason. It’s a heartbreaking story of neglect, poverty and exploitation which follows 17 year old Kiara who is left to fend for herself and finds herself pulled into the darkest side of the adult world. Gripping, gut-wrenching, powerful. This novel stayed with me long after I’d finished reading.

TV Series: BAD SISTERS

Sharon Horgan never disappoints and this is no exception. The dark comedy, which follows five Irish sisters as they deal with the fall out of their abusive brother-in-law's unexpected death, is just superb – wickedly funny, perfectly cast, and so well-written with twists and turns where you least expect them. Wonderful to have the backdrop of the beautiful Irish scenery too!

Film: EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

Michelle Yeoh is brilliant as the film’s unlikely hero, an ageing laundromat-owner trying to stop her life, business and family from falling apart, who is unexpectedly sucked into a trippy multiverse rift. A true rollercoaster of a film which seems to have a bit of everything – action, comedy, drama, love, martial arts, family, sci-fi… the list goes on. The frenetic energy of the film makes it fly past despite the long running time, and proves that the multiverse isn’t only for superheroes! It is completely bonkers and I loved it.