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In Venice, Hollywood Races to Adapt Books Before Publication

Publishers and agents are pitching books to film and television buyers increasingly early, even before publication deals are complete.

When representatives from 30 publishing houses and literary agencies arrive at the Venice Film Festival this week, they will come prepared to sell more than their newest releases. At the Book Adaptation Rights Market, held Sept. 4 to Sept. 6 as part of the Venice Production Bridge, publishers and agents can pitch their entire catalogs to film and television producers. The works range from novels and thrillers to graphic novels, biographies and children’s books. The setup reflects a broader shift in the adaptation business. Screen rights are increasingly discussed early in a book’s life, sometimes before publication.

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“These two worlds are more used to working together,” Chiara Marin, coordinator of the Venice Production Bridge and curator of the Book Adaptation Rights Market, told Observer.

That was not always the case. When the market began in 2016, publishers and film producers could seem to be speaking different languages. A publisher might focus on the story or its readership, while a producer has to keep in mind “how much a book potentially could cost to transform into a movie,” Marin said. Publishers, she added, did not always have “the general vision of........

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