Book to Screen

Authors, agents, and publishers are increasingly expanding their reach into multiple formats and potential revenue streams. This course will examine how books and authors move beyond the book, both creatively and in marketing, across various forms of media, with a specific focus on book to screen, large and small. Through case studies and examples, we will analyze the rationale behind brand extensions and expansion into multimedia. How does this process work, creatively? We will examine the recent rise of long form journalism and podcasts as vehicles for adaptation, and we will also assess the power of trends in publishing, and the shifting perception of literary genre. What is the interplay between books and movies and books and TV? How has the marketplace shifted as streaming media companies take a larger market share? How does all this affect the job of the agent or literary scout in terms of placing properties? These and other issues will be probed in detail from multiple viewpoints. By the end of the course, students will understand the shifting face of media and the need to think creatively and expansively about different source material as they engage with the creative process of adaptation.