Based on the novel

I just want to take this opportunity to briefly speak to anyone out there who has ever said, “I really think my book should be made into a film.”

Okay, stop right there. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer here, but after hearing this phrase for the 1 billionth time, we at P&P thought something should be said on the subject.

First off, if your goal is to one day have a film on the big screen based on a story you wrote, perhaps you should look into screenwriting. Cut out the middle man. I’m just sayin’....

Second, let’s look at the facts: I recently came across a great article on the Boston Globe’s site about just how many movies are actually made from books these days (fiction, specifically).

One publisher and literary agent interviewed notes that, in the 25 years she’s been in the business, most novels she’s worked with have been optioned for a film—but none made.

However, this isn’t the case for all. Some book rights are snapped up and made in no time. In fact, we’ve had some recent success with books making it into production, including Entering Hades, a true crime book about a serial killer.

Of course, here are also examples like recent Oscar buzz-worthy flick Revolutionary Road, a book that was written in 1961 and just made into a movie in 2008 (after much campaigning from star Kate Winslet and her husband, director Sam Mendes).

Another instance is novelist Elinor Lipman, who sold an option to her book Then She Found Me 19 years ago, only to have it made into a movie that went into limited release in April 2008.

And if the recent Watchmen fiasco is any indication, sometimes it may just be better not to have your book optioned at all.

In the end, it’s important to remember why you’re an author in the first place—hopefully because you feel a calling to share your story with readers and you’re passionate about what you do. The goal of your publicity campaign shouldn’t necessarily be to get your book made into a movie, but to establish your presence as an author.

And if you write that awesome book and Hollywood does come a knockin’...well, that’s just icing on the cake.

Film version of Entering Hades moving into production

Few debut titles make the noise that John Leake's Entering Hades (Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Sarah Crichton Books) made when it launched last fall.

Thanks in large part to the PR team at FSG, the book received great reviews from Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and many others. It was also named one of the best books of 2007 by Men's Vogue. Leake was featured at the Texas Book Festival and did numerous interviews about the book when it launched last fall. It was one of our lead fall titles.

Variety is reporting this morning that Warnes Bros. is "hot for Leake's Entering Hades." Here is Michael Fleming's article:

"Warner Bros. has acquired the John Leake book "Entering Hades" and has attached Robert Schwentke to direct the adaptation.

The book, published late last year by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, is about Jack Unterweger, a journalist who led a double life strangling prostitutes in Vienna and Los Angeles, and covering his own crimes in the early 1990s. Unterweger hanged himself after receiving a life sentence.

Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein will produce through their Landscape Entertainment and Elysium Films banners. Shara Kay will be executive producer.

"Robert, Richard and I want to do a movie that is more than a dark serial killer story," Cooper said. "This is about the power of celebrity, and what happens when this sociopath goes to Los Angeles, a city that is the prototype for reinvention."

Schwentke's latest film, "The Time Traveler's Wife," will be distributed by WB in 2009."

The book has had an ironic connection to Hollywood from the start, as the focus of Leake's work, Austrian serial killer and author Jack Unterweger, spent some time in Los Angeles shopping his manuscripts to producers in between killing women and interviewing LAPD officers.

He was firmly convinced his work should be on the silver screen.

Despite his flamboyant outfits, charisma and determination, Jack never inked a film deal in America. Something tells me he'd be ever so pleased that John Leake did.

Who says readings don't yield results

You never know who is going to show up to a reading at Book Soup. One of the biggest and sadly, last, major independent book stores in the country, Book Soup is located on the infamous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. The quirky shop is known for lots of things: floor-to-ceiling book shelves, a great blog, unusually famous clientele and well-attended events.

Among publicists, Book Soup is to readings in LA what BookPeople is to touring authors in Austin—the most sought after venue for the biggest events. Over the next few weeks Book Soup will host events for Augusten Burroughs, Barbara Walters, James Frey, Arianna Huffington and other famous authors. Though top publishers have their sights firmly set on the bookstore, true to its independent roots, Book Soup also opens its doors to small publishers, university presses and other non conglomerated publishers that have authors touring in the area.

One of our titles last fall, Entering Hades (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux/Sarah Crichton Books), by John Leake, received widespread coverage and rave reviews from everyone but Janet Maslin. The book is a fascinating true crime tale about the world’s first intercontinental serial killer, Jack Unterweger. John did not do a formal book tour, but had signings at the Texas Book Festival, BookPeople, Book Soup and other locales throughout the campaign. Book Soup made sense as a venue because the story had a significant local connection.

From the LA Times:

“In 1994, Unterweger was convicted of murdering nine prostitutes, including three in the L.A. area. The bodies of Shannon Exley and Irene Rodriguez were found in Boyle Heights, and the body of Peggi Jean Booth, who also used the name Sherri Ann Long, was discovered in the Malibu hills. Police determined that Unterweger had strangled his victims using their brassieres.”

Each event he had was well-attended but the one that stood out was his Book Soup reading. Why? None other than John Malkovich was seated in the audience. Apparently Malkovich had followed the Jack Unterweger case in the early ‘90s and according to the LA Times, Leake’s book “reignited his interest in the notorious killer.”

As it turns out, Malkovich was not just a casual observer. On Friday the LA Times announced that the actor “is playing real-life Austrian serial killer and bestselling author Jack Unterweger in a world premiere production, "Seduction and Despair," which debuted over the weekend in Santa Monica.

Not only is Malkovich starring as Unterweger, he’s also directing the play. According to the LA Times,

“The idea for "Seduction and Despair" originated nearly two years ago when Malkovich first met Martin Haselböck at a dinner at the Austrian Consulate in L.A. The two fell into a heated debate about European politics but later agreed to work together on a project that would somehow bridge Austrian culture and Southern California.”

Apparently the two had originally settled on another piece for their collaboration, but thanks to John Leake’s event at Book Soup, they found a fascinating new source for their work together.

It all goes to show that book signings, which do demand a lot of extra time and energy from an author (not to mention time-consuming tour media from their publicist), can yield some outstanding results - and sometimes book sales are only the beginning.

Social networking for authors, Entering Hades, props to Norman Mailer

What can authors learn from the social networking efforts of Coca Cola?

Social networking platforms, like blogs, can do wonders for increasing your web presence. What is a “social networking platform” you ask? Without descending into the depths of geekery, it’s a web tool that brings people with like interests and activities together. MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook are excellent examples. More and more corporations have started using these social networking sites to their advantage. It helps with brand awareness, dispels information to potentially millions of unique visitors, and can help position a company to a broader demographic range. Some great examples of companies jumping on the social media wagon include recent Cherry Coke and Adidas media campaigns on MySpace. Adidas currently has 80,879 friends. P&P has a MySpace page where we count authors and media contacts in our FriendSpace. It’s been a great networking tool for us. If you’re an author looking for a dynamic way to get your message out there, it might be time to try a social networking site. MySpace is one of the most popular among authors. It’s easy to set up, and it’s free.

John Leake’s Entering Hades-The Double Life of a Serial Killer published amid excellent reviews

Entering Hades (Sarah Crichton Books/ Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, November 2007) is the true crime story of serial killer Jack Unterweger and his international reign of terror throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century. It’s an interesting, albeit gruesome look at one of the most sadistic, meticulous serial killers in recent memory. Leake, a native of Dallas, has already received great reviews for his well researched look into the twisted mind of Unterweger. Check out his mention in the Texas Pages, the books blog of the Dallas Morning News. The book’s private launch party is this evening in Dallas. For more information, including his list of upcoming appearances, please visit Leake’s website.

Norman Mailer passes away at the age of 84

Prolific American novelist, playwright, journalist and screenwriter passed away last Saturday. Professionally, Mailer was perhaps best known for his 1948 piece The Naked and The Dead and his 1979 book The Executioner’s Song, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He was considered one of the preeminent innovators of the creative nonfiction genre and was a founder of The Village Voice, now one of the country’s most well-known alternative weeklies. Clearly, Mailer did so much for American literature. He had a colorful life that included six marriages, nine children and a run for mayor of New York City. Gay Talese told the Associated Press, "He could do anything he wanted to do — the movie business, writing, theater, politics. He never thought the boundaries were restricted. He‘d go anywhere and try anything. He was a courageous person, a great person, fully confident, with a great sense of optimism." The Economist sums him up best. (registration may be required)

The buzz is building for the Texas Book Festival

From the Austin City Limits Music Festival to SXSW, Austin is known for hosting volumes of festivals throughout the year. Lucky for us, we don’t have to travel very far this Fall as Austin is also home to one of the biggest book festivals in the country, The Texas Book Festival. Established in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, the festival’s purpose is to increase awareness of authors and literature and to raise money for Texas public libraries. The Texas Book Festival is held in the state capitol building and offers open sessions to visitors and book signings.

Following the common philosophy that “everything’s bigger in Texas,” the Texas Book Festival is certainly no exception. Visitors from across the country flock to the state’s capitol to rub elbows with the heavyweights of the literary world. Past guests include Angela’s Ashes author Frank McCourt, The Audacity of Hope author and current presidential candidate Barack Obama, and hundreds of others. This year is sure to be equally as impressive, with featured authors including:

- Monica Brown, author of the upcoming Butterflies on Carmen Street/Mariposas en la Calle Carmen. Brown’s Latino, European and Jewish heritage shines through the novel, with it’s text in both English and Spanish. Brown has written a number of biographies of famous members of the Latino community (Celia Cruz and Gabriel Garcia Marquez are examples) aimed at young children.

- Roz Chast, cartoonist whose drawings of the neurotic among us have been appearing in New Yorker Magazine since 1978. Her drawings offer a hint of light-heartedness to the often stuffy magazine. I liked her 2006 collection, Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons.

- David Talbot, author who ushered in online journalism with his founding of Salon.com in 1995. He’s written a book called Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years that sheds light on JFK’s administration and assassination and his brother Robert’s reaction to it all.

- Kristin Gore (Al’s daughter,) Jenna Bush (W’s daughter) and John Leake will also be making appearances.

Mark your calendars: November 3rd & 4th at the State Capitol Building.

The buzz is building for Entering Hades

Congrats to John Leake, whose debut release Entering Hades just received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Here’s what PW had to say:

★ Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer

John Leake. Sarah Crichton/FSG, $25

(336p) ISBN 978-0-374-14845-4

Austrian Jack Unterweger was many things to many people—celebrated author, well-known bon vivant and loyal friend. To prostitutes plying their trade in Vienna, he was a ruthless killer. When he hanged himself in his jail cell after being convicted of murder in 1994, Unterweger brought to a close a story of cold-blooded murder that crossed social boundaries and international borders. As told in page-turning, savagely intimate style in this debut by translator and editor Leake, Unterweger’s vicious killing spree comes alive in horrifying detail. Released from prison in 1990 for an earlier murder, Unterweger quickly began killing again. Passing himself off as a journalist, he took to calling the relatives of his victims. “At 5:00 p.m. the same voice called back and said, ‘They lie in the place of atonement, facing downward, toward Hades, because otherwise it would have been an outrage.’ ” His 1991 murder of a hooker in Los Angeles proves his undoing as the American police, working with Austrian authorities, track him down. Leake gets bogged down in the minutiae of the 1994 trial in Vienna, but this is a minor glitch in an otherwise cracking good true-crime tale that, while demonstrating respect to the victims, conjures a character in Unterweger that readers will not soon forget. (Nov.)