How To Get Your Book Made Into A Movie: An Interview With Mary Pender from the Literary Media Department at WME

On why you should be skeptical of any book agent who claims they can do ALL THE THINGS and why sometimes we need a little help from our friendly co-agents.

Pygmalion and Galatea. Jean Léon Gérôme.

When I meet with potential clients, I often get asked if I can sell the film rights of their book. The answer is “not quite.” (Please take note of this before you email me the pitch of your screenplay idea, as selling screenplays is one of the many things that falls under the category of “Not My Job.”) An important thing to know about agents is that the good ones are somewhat specialized. In my last post, I shared an interview with Charles Yao, a lecture agent who gets well-paying speaking gigs for his clients, e.g. another agent-y thing that it is my job to know about but that I don’t actually do myself.

While some larger agencies offer speaking and sell dramatic rights and book rights, you should be skeptical of any singular agent who claims to be able to do all these things in a one-person package. Such an image brings to mind one of my favorite Arab-American Instagram comedians and his skits about Dr. Haddad Travel Agency, where you can get your teeth cleaned, your head shrunk and book your next trip to Vegas!

That’s where today’s guest, Mary Pender from WME comes in. Mary is one of my favorite “book-to-film” agents, the colloquial but (as you’ll discover below) not-quite-accurate term we in Bookland use to describe her role. Just like it is my job to know which editors at Riverhead or Greywolf or Atria might be a good fit for a book, it’s hers to know which producers, screenwriters, actors and others are the best possible partner for getting your writing project developed into a film or TV show. So instead of selling film rights directly myself, I partner with co-agent specialists like Mary. She gets into how she does what she does below.

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What does a book-to-film agent do? And could you tell us a bit about coagenting?

Book-to-film agent is a bit of a misnomer. We call our department here at WME the Literary Media Department. The reason for that is that we work across all intellectual property that can be source material for adaptation to film, TV, stage, podcasts or other mediums. We also work with clients who are authors but are interested in taking on other roles within the film industry, such as screenwriting and/or producing. The basic gist of what we do for writers is identify material that we feel strongly could be adapted into scripted or unscripted film, television, podcast or other mediums. Our role is to find the appropriate creative partners to help bring the project from page-to-screen, which means finding the right producers, screenwriters, directors, actors and studios or financiers. Every project needs roughly the same elements to get made, but the path toward production for each project is bespoke.

In addition to working with our colleagues in WME’s book department, we also co-agent with agents at other agencies, such as yours. Co-agenting is working with an author's literary agent who handles the traditional publishing side of an author's career. We work closely with the literary agents to ensure that we're all working together to help the client reach their professional goals.

As the vast majority of our clients are either published authors or soon-to-be-published authors, we need to work closely with that author’s literary agent to ensure that our plans align with what is happening on the publishing front. The phrase rising tides lifts all boats comes to mind, when the adaptation side has momentum, the publishing side gets a bump and vice versa. It’s a very cohesive and synergistic relationship and it’s all about building the career of the client in whatever direction makes the most sense for the client. I often look at it as helping to build a brand. We've linked arms with a co-agent to build the appropriate infrastructure around a client to ensure that they are taking the right next steps to achieve their career objectives. Communication and transparency are the keys to the relationships.

How do you find out about projects? And how do you decide what to take on?

I find projects a bunch of different ways. Most of the projects these days come to me from WME’s book department and my existing co-agent relationships. However, I always look for interesting titles at local book stores and if something strikes me, I’ll do a bit of research to see who represents the title and if the book already has a co-agent on my side of things, I’ll take note of the literary agent and reach out because our tastes might align and there might be an opportunity in the future. I also read Publishers Marketplace, Publishers Weekly, Bookseller, a lot of newspapers and also listen to podcasts. As a former scout, I know that a good book or project can really come from anywhere, so I’m open to reading and seeing new things. I am naturally curious, and as a former journalist I like to research and do deeper dives into subjects or people I think are interesting.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what makes me decide to take something on. It’s really a gut reaction. I only take things that I feel passionately about and I try not to take on projects that step on projects that I’m already working on. I’m looking for something that strikes me, either as a unique idea, emotionally riveting, or page-turning. If I laugh out loud or get teary, or if I stay up late to finish something, those are usually good indicators for me to take something on. I’m very much a generalist but some examples of the types of projects I’ve worked on that I’m super excited about are THE NAZI AND THE PSYCHIATRIST by Jack El-Hai, which is now called Nuremberg and will be premiering at TIFF with Rami Malek and Russell Crowe starring. Jamie Vanderbilt adapted and directed it and it will be theatrically released in the US on November 7. I am equally excited for the first Emily Henry adaptation, PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, that will be launched on Netflix on January 9th, 2026. There are so many other great projects in motion, but it's too early to talk about them!

What does the submission process look like?

The submission process is different for each project and it depends on what is happening in the marketplace on how and when the submission takes place. The general way we do a submission is we decide who we think will respond to the material and we create a list of those creatives. We pitch the material based on our perspective on the best way into the material and share the property with those creatives.

We work with the client to find the best partners to bring a creative vision to screen. Authors get to choose their partners, so we make sure that the authors hear any creative take and we work closely with our authors and their literary agents through the process to make sure authors remain involved and have a voice. We try to formalize that voice by getting the author an official seat at the table through some sort of credit, but as I mentioned before, every deal is bespoke and there are many factors involved in how this ultimately pans out. The decision to move forward with a deal is the author's choice. Our job is to bring opportunities and help them navigate this side of their career.

What happens after material is optioned? Could you give us a sense of the timeline from optioning a book to getting something made?

When someone options material, they’re paying for an exclusive period of time to develop a film or series. This means that for the contracted period of time, usually 12 or 18 months, they’ve paid for the ability to put together pitch materials, scripts, or make any attachments to create a show or feature film. Usually there is a contractual second option period which allows for more time. In order to start production/principal photography, a purchase price has to be paid. When we say a project is “greenlit,” we mean the studio or financier or distributor is saying that production can begin.

After material is optioned, the next step in the process is to either work on a pitch or to get a script written. Nothing can be made without a great script. The process for series is different to film, but both need a great script to move toward greenlight. Unfortunately, there is no real timeline from optioning to getting something made. It can happen quickly if everything aligns. Unlike writing a book, which is an author, their literary agent, an editor and a publishing house, film and TV production has so many more moving parts and schedules to work around. It literally takes a village to make film and television so everything has to align.

How does the money for optioning a book compare to the money for a book advance?

This totally depends. Sometimes it can be significant and sometimes not much. Authors have to think about option money as frosting and not the end goal for writing a book. The primary objective for any author is to write the very best book they can. Good material rises to the top and good material finds a home in film or TV; it just depends on the appetites of the market and sometimes may take longer than we hope.

Is there anything else you wish authors knew about the process of turning a book (or article or podcast) into a film or tv show?

Like with anything, it is a process, and it takes a lot of time. We do our best to help the process along and find the appropriate elements to ensure that the project has its best foot forward and the best chance to get made. Things do and can fall apart, but my mantra as noted above is that good material rises to the top and good material always finds a home, it just sometimes takes longer than we hope. We get behind projects we love and we continue to be our clients biggest cheerleaders and advocates for the life of a project.