Throughout a writing career of almost ten years, Rufi Thorpe had written three books. The third and most famous, “Knockout Queen,” was selected for the screen in what he called “the normal way,” by another company that was trying to make it into a movie.
Then she wrote her fourth book, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” And the process he was used to was thrown out the window: The story exploded even before it was on the bookshelves, there was an incredible bidding war involving A24 and Elle Fanning, and less than two years after it was published, the adaptation is hitting Apple TV in April.
Too many writers have never made it to Hollywood. But what was once a distant dream, is now becoming a reality for more and more writers, down the ladder of fame and literary fame.
Since the broadcasting industry is hungry for stories to tell, an author does not need to have created a book on “The Vampire Chronicles,” “Harry Potter” or “Twilight,” to see their work become a pop culture icon on the screen.
It’s fair to say Rachel Reid’s niche hit “Heated Rivalry” didn’t start until a viral recommendation from another romance writer; Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” series was acclaimed in the romance world but little known; Mick Herron’s “Slow Horses” did not do so well in its first edition that the publisher rejected the next book. All of them are now inactive players for their respective streaming services.
Book adaptations have become so important in Hollywood that Netflix, the adapter of endless books, said that its book-to-screen content has found a place in the world’s Top 10 streamers every week in 2025. For many streamers, adaptations have become pillars of the news, so that the platforms offer book adaptations as one of their reading groups.
Books have always been a valuable commodity in Hollywood, said Rich Green, who leads book-film/TV development at management and production firm Gotham Group. He said that decades ago, his small list of book buyers was what “kept my phone ringing.”
At that time, large and small cinemas were the main customers. Streaming has “dramatically” changed the adaptation landscape, Green said. Where studios can only make a few movies a year, streamers have “infinite bandwidth” to do as much as they can for hungry consumers watching their televisions at all hours. With the growing demand for stories, both published books and upcoming editions provide an endless stream of ideas, Green said.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got viewers coming in who are doing what I’m doing,” Green said, “and they’re voting aggressively.”
He said that this method quadrupled his business.
For writers, that may mean more involvement in the adaptation process. Thorpe has an executive producer credit on “Margo,” an increasingly popular feature among writers of adapted novels. “Hamnet” author Maggie O’Farrell helped Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao translate her book to the screen — a process she said involved long Zoom calls and the exchange of voice notes.
Most writers are still happy to sign a contract and wash their hands of it. But others may want to retain more creative control if they have an interest, rather than the practice of handing it over to the industry.
“Hollywood is in a place where that request is no longer boring, scary, or – at best – chaotic,” Green said.
After producing the Netflix film adaptation of her book “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and its sequels, Jenny Han became the spokesperson for the hit series “The Summer I Changed Beautiful,” translated by Amazon. In the same year, he started his own production company.
Sarah Dessen, a great YA author, has seen the industry change firsthand. Back in 2003, his first two novels, “That Summer” and “Someone Like You,” were shot together into a movie, “How To Deal,” starring Mandy Moore. He never spoke to the screenwriter for the film, although he was sent a script and asked for his opinion. He doesn’t think his proposal would have made a difference; there were already a lot of eyes on the product, as usual when dealing with Hollywood behemoths.
It ended in 2019, when Netflix picked up three of Dessen’s novels and produced the 2022 film “Along for the Ride.” Even with the stars already connected, the whole process felt more collaborative, he said. Dessen developed a personal relationship with the executive producer, who was a fan of his books growing up. Later, director and screenwriter Sofia Alvarez spent an hour on the phone with Dessen talking about the book. As soon as the film started, Dessen visited the set and Alvarez asked his opinion about certain performances.
“I feel like they were more interested in my opinion and what I thought about things,” Dessen said.
There are still many books that have been chosen and have never been made into a series or film. While there are adaptations, Dessen still calls them a “long shot,” an indication of how difficult and unusual the process is. But the growing demand has affected every part of Hollywood.
Literary scouts, once only the big studios could afford them, are now hired by producers and other buyers to help sniff out upcoming books that might hide a gold mine, à la “Heated Rivalry.” In the age of the Internet, that means looking beyond upcoming or existing books from major publishing houses to stories that have adapted from other unconventional publishing channels.
“There are many other books,” said one literary expert. There are many more to go through, because they come from all directions.
Celebrity bookies also often try to coax their high-profile choices into dramatic on-screen transformations. Reese Witherspoon was the most prominent: See “Big Little Lies” and “Little Fires Everywhere,” Reese’s Book Club selections turned into streaming megahits, starring Witherspoon and produced by her production company. (Right after the release of “Little Fires Everywhere,” author Celeste Ng called celebrity book groups “miracle workers.”)
Studio customers used to receive printed copies or Advanced Reader Copies of novels; Now, customers want to see manuscripts as soon as possible, Green said. He will often take the manuscript to Hollywood at the same time as the publishing agent places the publishers.
Ten years ago – before scouts were the norm – studios would have paid a fortune to take a manuscript to the Hollywood market before anyone knew it existed, a literary expert said. Now, sometimes many people are interested in becoming customers, and the authors can choose the business that interests them the most. It will not always come in money; sometimes, the winning bid has more attractive stars attached, or other details.
“There are a lot of people involved in this,” said the literary expert.
Praising a writer sometimes comes down to chemistry, said Marshall, the producer of “Hamnet”.
“Do they trust you? I think that’s the key. Do you get along?” he said. “For me, that’s very important, I think there’s a connection between you and the novelist.”
Sometimes, those relationships can be difficult.
After Hulu renewed “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” writer Sarah J. Maas said earlier this year that she has the rights to her work back and is looking to adapt it to the screen.
“I look at any kind of TV or movies as another part of the world that I’ve created,” he said on the podcast “Call Her Daddy.” “It’s something I want to control.”
That negotiation between owners and management has led to some high-profile disputes. Min Jin Lee was originally supposed to be the executive producer of the Apple TV adaptation of “Pachinko,” but later left the production for reasons he refused to disclose publicly. (Lee was not available to be interviewed for this article.) Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk spent years suing a production company that he felt took too many liberties for the television adaptation of the best-selling “The Museum of Innocence.” He won, and later worked with a different company – which required his signature on every page of the script. The series premiered on Netflix in February, to average reviews.
Not every writer is particularly concerned with how their works are reinterpreted. Julia Quinn, author of the “Bridgerton” series, had never bought Hollywood novels when she received a call from Shondaland in 2017. She left full creative control from the beginning, she said. Hollywood adaptations of romance novels were rare; Historical romantic relationships were even more rare. Now, if another deal came up, Quinn said he might “do it differently,” but at the time he knew the opportunity was “once in a lifetime.”
Looking back, he said, “it’s clear I made the right decision.”
Due to the success of the Netflix show, book sales for her books have increased significantly, Quinn said. They have been published in new countries, and he has gone on book tours to places he dreamed of as a child.
And most of all, he was able to slow down his writing and publishing to try new things. She spent 18 months as an ambassador for the EveryLibrary book ban and is on the board of the global non-profit Landesa, a women’s land rights organization. He used to publish a book a year; now, his last book was in 2023, which is “Queen Charlotte” from the screen to the page. He still has a love of history, Quinn said, but the success of Netflix has given him time to pursue other interests and ways of telling stories.
“There are so many ways stories can be told,” Dessen said. It’s an embarrassment of riches.
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