Foundation Media Partners, a film and television production company based in Los Angeles, has established an imprint, Foundation Books, in partnership with Macmillan.
The new venture, developed by Macmillan Children's Publishing Group president and publisher Jen Besser and Foundation founder and CEO Patrick Hughes, focuses on publishing books with potential to be adapted for film and television. Authors will be invited to participate in various aspects of screen adaptation, including writing first drafts of screenplays and serving as producers. The company has not yet set a number of titles it plans to publish per year, nor does it have any titles currently under contract.
"We have a great working relationship with Macmillan and we are well aligned with how we look at the future of the book business and how that business interacts with Hollywood," Hughes, said in a statement announcing the partnership. He emphasized the company's commitment to author involvement, noting that "we are very excited about the slate we've put together and the model we've built at foundation, which empowers creators and authors right from the start and continues throughout every stage of the creative process."
Besser added: "In an ever-changing publishing landscape, it's thrilling to partner with Foundation Media, a company who shares our belief that our approach to publishing should be just as bold and creative as the authors and artists whose work we publish."
Foundation has a track record of successful book-to-screen adaptations, especially in the children's space, including the animated feature Bad Guys, adapted from Aaron Blabey's chapter book series, and the Netflix adaptation of Blabey's Thelma the Unicorn. In all, the company has worked with authors whose combined sales exceed 60 million books. The announcement follows Foundation's recent first-look deal with Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing to develop film and television projects from the company’s catalog.
