Sema Kara: Why Film Rights Become More Important for Publishers

Hello, Sema! You are Rights Manager Film and Television at the Penguin Random House publishing group. What tasks does this role involve and what does your day-to-day work look like?

Sema Kara: My job is to license our book materials in the film and television sector and my day-to-day work consists first of all of reading and checking as many materials as possible. I work very much in terms of content in this respect. It's about considering which of our titles are suitable for a film adaptation and which production companies might be interested in them. Of course, I also try to look at as many current film and series productions as possible. Everything that comes out in terms of book adaptations, but of course also original material. I've just finished one of our multi-day program meetings. The Penguin Random House publishing group currently includes more than 40 publishers, and this gives me an early overview of their programs. Twice a year, we compile a catalog of film material in which we offer those book materials for film adaptation for which we have the film rights.

A number of production companies are based here in Munich, where your publishing house is also based. As rights manager, do you proactively approach these companies with material?

Sema: I am in daily contact with my contacts at the production companies. The fact that many of them are based in Munich makes things easier. This gives me a very good idea of what they might be interested in. I approach them proactively. These are sometimes very confidential conversations, because sometimes it's about books that won't be published until a year and a half later. But there are also cases where production companies approach me and ask about specific material or themes.

Literary adaptations are currently experiencing a boom internationally. Is this trend also apparent in German-speaking countries and with local titles?

Sema: Absolutely. We can already see this in the fact that more and more production companies and streaming platforms have book scouts scouring the book market for material that can be adapted into films. This is a recent development. In addition to in-house productions and originals, books are now the most popular source material for film adaptations, ahead of games, podcasts, toy brands – or even films as source material for remakes. In German-speaking countries, I'm noticing a strong demand for books and IPs, i.e. stories that have already worked and have a broad audience.

More and more production companies and streaming platforms have book scouts

Why are so many books being turned into movies right now?

Sema: Production companies pay very close attention to how successful a book was, which minimizes the often high financial risk in a film production, especially in economically uncertain times. Another important aspect is time. The production of a book adaptation is often realized more quickly than that of the original material. The core target group of a film adaptation are those who are already fans of the original book, known as the “built-in audience”. The story and structure of a narrative and the so-called world building are already laid out in the original book. The best examples are the “Harry Potter” film adaptations, which were based on the global success of the books; “Unorthodox” by Deborah Feldman is another such case. The book was published in 2017 and was already a bestseller when it was made into a Netflix series. We then acquired the license for the paperback and published it with the series artwork for the launch. After that, the title hit the bestseller list again.

Is there a recognizable trend in the genres filmed?

Sema:  In German-speaking countries, I would speak of permanent trends. In the areas of crime and thrillers. This can be seen both in classic linear television and in media libraries. Comedy also works very well in Germany. Especially light material with a tendency towards escapism. Familiar worlds and family stories that you can fall into. Film adaptations of books from the new and young adult genre are very popular and there is great hope that this will continue. In addition, material and authors who tell diverse and multi-faceted stories about a heterogeneous society are in great demand. Books and their readers, which have been neglected in the past, are gradually moving into the focus of the film industry, hopefully in the long term. However, it is actually just as revealing to talk about negative trends, topics that are currently not so popular. History, for example, is difficult to convey at the moment. Sometimes also because the production costs are too high. One exception – from an international perspective - is Second World War material. This is an era that is being worked through again and again. In the English-speaking world, GDR material is also very popular.

Conversely, are publishers like Penguin Random House particularly interested in material that is suitable for film?

Sema: When buying, we don't primarily focus on the question of how well a story can be made into a movie. We are always concerned first and foremost with how good a story is and whether it works as a book. As far as I can tell, it's the same with the other major German-language publishing houses. For the publishing industry as a whole, however, it can be said that book templates for film adaptations have become such an important economic factor that film rights are playing an increasingly important role - this is also the case here at our company.

The fact that film rights are sold before publication is already common practice in the Anglo-American region. Authors sometimes sign book and film contracts together. Literary agencies there are now working very strongly in this direction and even approach their authors specifically: “Hey so-and-so, we know that this production company is looking for this kind of material. Would you be interested in writing something along these lines?” In a way, the buying behavior of production companies shapes the creation process of literary material. This is not yet so widespread in German-speaking countries.