Book-to-Screen
Your Story May Have Another Life Beyond the Page.
We help authors assess the screen potential of their literary properties, develop the right adaptation direction, prepare professional materials, and position suitable projects for consideration within the film and television marketplace.
We work with novels, memoirs, biographies, narrative non-fiction, historical works, thrillers, romance, literary fiction, crime, inspirational works and other literary properties that may suit screen development.
Who this is for
Is Your Book Built for the Screen?
Not every book should become a film or a television project, and we will say so plainly when we think a property is better served by publishing alone. That is precisely why professional assessment comes first.
A screen adaptation asks a different set of questions of a story than publishing does. Assessment comes first so that time, money and professional goodwill are spent only where a property can genuinely carry a screen project.
We may be a fit for
- Published authors
- Self-published authors
- Novelists
- Memoirists
- Biographers
- Narrative non-fiction authors
- Historical writers
- Crime and thriller authors
- Romance authors
- Literary fiction authors
- Authors with strong international settings
- Authors whose books contain compelling characters and visual narratives
The division
A complete book-to-screen service structure.
Eight connected areas of work. Authors may begin with an assessment alone, or continue through development, positioning and industry strategy as a project earns it.
How it works
From submission to industry strategy.
Screen adaptation is a competitive process. No producer, agent, studio, broadcaster, streamer or financier can be guaranteed, and nothing on this page should be read as an offer of representation, production or financing.
Step 1
Submit Your Project
You provide the title, synopsis, genre, publication information and the relevant project details.
Step 2
Initial Evaluation
We examine the work's potential for screen development, on the strength of the material itself.
Step 3
Adaptation Strategy
We determine the most appropriate potential screen format and development direction.
Step 4
Development
We develop the appropriate screen-facing materials for that format.
Step 5
Positioning
We refine the project's market and industry positioning.
Step 6
Industry Strategy
Where appropriate, we help identify relevant avenues for professional representation, introductions or outreach.
Film or series?
The right format is a development decision, not a preference.
Format shapes structure, budget, audience and the professionals a project should be shown to. We consider all three routes before recommending one.
Feature Film
Best suited to stories with:
- Strong central conflict
- Focused narrative
- Defined protagonist
- High dramatic momentum
- A story that can be contained within a feature structure
Limited Series
Potentially suited to:
- Complex characters
- Multiple storylines
- Expansive worlds
- Historical narratives
- Political or geopolitical stories
- Stories requiring greater narrative space
Television Series
Potentially suited to:
- Continuing characters
- Episodic structures
- Multiple seasons of narrative potential
- Strong recurring conflicts
Format indications are a starting point. Final format decisions depend on professional development and industry assessment.
Screen readiness
What makes a book screen-ready?
These are the qualities development readers look for first. A property does not need all six, but it needs enough of them to survive the process.
Strong Characters
Characters with clear motivations, contradictions, emotional depth and development an actor can play and an audience can follow.
Cinematic Worlds
Settings that can be visually and dramatically expressed rather than only described.
Conflict
A compelling central problem that can sustain dramatic tension across the length of the chosen format.
Emotional Stakes
Reasons for audiences to care about what happens, and consequences that matter if it goes wrong.
Adaptable Structure
A narrative that can be meaningfully translated into screen form without losing what made the book itself work.
Distinctive Premise
A story with an identifiable concept and a reason for audiences to notice it among everything else on offer.
The path
From manuscript to screen project.
Each stage exists so the next one is worth taking. Projects can stop at any point, and some should.
- 01BookThe published or completed literary property.
- 02AssessmentProfessional evaluation of screen potential and format.
- 03Adaptation ConceptThe direction the adaptation would take.
- 04Screen DevelopmentLogline, synopsis, characters, structure, treatment.
- 05Pitch MaterialsA producer-facing package built around the project.
- 06Industry PositioningComparables, audience and market framing.
- 07Producer / Representation DiscussionsSelective, relevant approaches where appropriate.
About the division
Our Approach
We approach screen adaptation from a literary-development perspective first. Before a project is introduced to the screen marketplace, we believe the underlying story should be understood, its strongest elements identified, and its potential format carefully considered.
Our role is to help authors move from literary property to professionally structured screen proposition, while preserving the identity and strengths of the original work.
Meridian Press International is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Legal rights advice, contract interpretation, option agreements, purchase agreements and other legal matters should be handled by a qualified entertainment attorney.
Submit
Submit Your Book for Screen Consideration
Tell us about the work and we will read it as a potential screen property. We reply with an honest view, including when we think the book is better left as a book.
Questions
What authors ask us first.
Can every book be adapted for film or television?
No. Screen potential depends on story structure, characters, conflict, visual qualities, audience, format, rights availability and other considerations. Part of the value of an assessment is a clear answer when a property is better served by publishing alone.
Do you guarantee that my book will become a film?
No. The service is designed to professionally assess and develop a project and to help position it for appropriate industry consideration. No producer, agent, studio, broadcaster, streamer or financier can be guaranteed.
Do you sell screen rights?
No. Rights transactions, option agreements and purchase agreements should be handled through appropriate representatives and qualified legal professionals. Our work is assessment, development, preparation and positioning.
Can you help with Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Disney or other studios?
We do not promise access to any specific company and we do not claim relationships we do not have. A project should first be appropriately developed and positioned, and then directed toward relevant industry professionals and legitimate channels for consideration.
Do I need to be traditionally published?
No. Suitable self-published and independently published works may also be considered, provided the screen-rights position is clear.
What happens after my assessment?
It depends on what the assessment finds. Some projects move to screen development and a pitch package; some need rights and documentation work first; some need further editorial work on the book itself; and some are best left as books. We recommend one route and explain why.
Next step
Your Story Starts on the Page. Its Next Chapter Could Be on Screen.
If you believe your book has the characters, conflict, world and dramatic potential to reach a screen audience, begin with a professional assessment.