All articles by Joel Rickett
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Features
Germany - All's fair
The topic on most people's lips at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair (October 15-19) was not the latest literary sensation, but rumours about the extraordinary saga at London talent agency Peters Fraser Dunlop (PFD).Caroline Michel, the company's beleaguered chief executive, cancelled her visit to Frankfurt at the last minute, still ...
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Features
United Kingdom - Small wonder
UK independent publisher Quercus may be small, but it should not escape the notice of any film producers hungry for literary material. Just two years since being launched by publishing industry veteran Anthony Cheetham (who founded Century and Orion) and his business partner Mark Smith, Quercus has picked up a ...
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Features
United Kingdom - Straight to Market
In contrast to major film studios, book publishers have been reluctant to use consumer research to trial content or marketing approaches. But that is changing and the new properties emerging through such research could be fertile ground for TV and film producers seeking proven formulas.Children's publishers, with their closely defined ...
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Features
United Kingdom - Crime Pays
If the film world has not heard from producer Peter James in a while, it is because he is revelling in his new incarnation as a bestselling crime author.James, who has long juggled film producing with writing novels, has moved up to the international literary premier league. New instalments in ...
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News
Hot titles at the London Book Fair 2007
Oscar Wilde & A Death Of No Importance by Gyles BrandrethBrandreth has turned Wilde's life into a detective story, 'intertwining all the intrigue of the classic English murder mystery with a compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.'Publisher: John Murray, June 2007Contact: Ed Victor, (44) ...
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News
Trendwatch: 'Franchise is still the magic word'
From the resurgence of chick-lit to the continuing appeal of the thriller franchise, these are the hot genres for film adaptation in 2007.THRILLERS'Producers are still asking for the new Bourne Identity - but there aren't many of those around,' says Nick Harris of Rwsh. He is backed up by Rebecca ...
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News
Buy the book
From Oscar-feted films such as The Last King Of Scotland and Notes On A Scandal to the new wave of fantasy films led by Eragon, book adaptations are scoring at the global box office and reaping critical acclaim. The literary option market is showing no sign of deflation, with producers ...
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News
The London Book Fair: turning over a new leaf
The London Book Fair (LBF) has become a crucial forum for the European and US film adaptation market, both for new material and discussions of ongoing projects.Both Lionel Shriver's The Post-Birthday World and Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts were buzz books at last year's event, and a slew of ...
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Features
United Kingdom - Hot spring
This spring will bring a bountiful crop of rising writers in the UK literary fiction landscape, many of whom have novels ripe for film treatment.Several have already been harvested by producers - Scott Rudin and Columbia Pictures have taken rights to Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, the eagerly awaited ...
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Features
United Kingdom - The TV Set
Publishers and film scouts were given a late Christmas present from Richard & Judy this week, as the TV chat show hosts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan - the UK's answer to Oprah - unveiled their 2007 book club selections.Last year's picks dominated the bestseller lists, with Kate Mosse's Labyrinth ...
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Reviews
Wolfhound (Volkodav)
Dir/scr: Nikolai Lebedev. Russ. 2006. 136mins.Russia's first proper foray into Tolkien-style fantasy film-making, Nikolai Lebedev's Wolfhound proves to be something of a mixed bag. On the one hand this holiday release feels formulaic, derivative and uneven in terms of acting and pacing; on the other it has enough novelty in ...
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News
New film options on the books
This month the BBC began itsattempt to compete with Channel 4's UK book club dynamos Richard & Judy,whose book show has become the British equivalent of Oprah Winfrey. PageTurners, a new flagship BBC1 series, aims to generate buzz about books andcreate an Oprah-style sales surge.In all, 24 titles have beenselected ...
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News
UK's Portobello Pictures launches book arm
Eric Abraham, founder of UKproduction outfit Portobello Pictures, is financing the creation of a new bookpublishing company.The venture, PortobelloBooks, will be run by Philip Gwyn Jones, former publisher of HarperCollins' UKliterary imprint Flamingo.The list will run to between15 and 20 new titles a year, focusing on international fiction and activistnon-fiction. ...