Shoot the Book! Photo credit Institut Francais
By Olivia Snaije
30% of projects presented during these meetings result in contracts with producers
In 1899, one of the earliest book-to-film adaptations was made, becoming an international success. It was 19th century French filmmaker Georges Méliès’ six-minute adaptation of Cinderella, based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault.On Monday, almost 130 years later, Shoot the Book!, a day of professional meetings brought 14 French publishers and 12 British producers together at the French Institute in London in partnership with the British Film Institute and Film London. This is the second edition of Shoot the Book! held just before the London Book Fair, part of an ongoing international effort to promote French books for screen adaptations.
The Shoot the Book! program is run by a French collective organization of over 500 publishers, the Société Civil des Éditeurs de Langue Française (SCELF) founded in 1960. Its role is to collect and distribute royalties to publishers that are generated from adaptations of literary works, whether they are rights for film, TV series, theatre, radio or music.
Valerie Barthez, Photo Credit Helene Bamberger
“Today, in terms of rights volume, 90% go towards cinema and series,” said Valérie Barthez, the new director of SCELF as of September 2025.
“Shoot the Book! was created to be a gateway between publishers and producers,” said Barthez, adding that it operates on three fronts: B2B speed meetings that are held via their platform, pitching sessions organized by SCELF and literary or film festivals, and finally, as in the case of yesterday’s event in London, Shoot the Book! partners with French Institutes worldwide.
Now in its 13th year, Shoot the Book! was developed by Barthez’s predecessor, Nathalie Piaskowski, as it became clear that book to film and television adaptations were central to streaming platforms. Today, meetings with 2000 producers a year are organized and according to SCELF, 30% of projects presented during these meetings result in contracts with producers. When you consider that 61% of books benefit from further sales once their adaptation has hit the screens, it’s easy to see how Shoot the Book! has become a key element in supporting the French book industry.
Shoot the Book! launched at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and has had a continued presence there since. In 2025, according to Barthez, 460 producers from 34 countries met with French publishers in Cannes. SCELF members also come to Shoot the Book! meetings at Series Mania in Lille, the largest European event for television series, and more recently to Fipadoc in Biarritz, the children’s book fair in Montreuil, the comics festival in Angoulême, and to Marseille Series Stories. With up to 30% of English-language scripted television series in the crime genre, SCELF is also present at Lyon’s Quai du Polar which focuses on crime literature.
French Institutes abroad work with Shoot the Book! to identify if networking sessions between French publishers and producers from a particular country can be productive said Barthez. The 2025 edition in London worked so well that it was repeated this year with an increased number of publishers.
This year’s 14 French publishers included more generalist houses such as Albin Michel, Éditions Grasset, or JC Lattès, to independent children’s publisher Auzou, the fantasy and science fiction publisher Plume Blanche, or Mediatoon’s graphic novels imprints. Matriochkas, an agency that represents publishers and facilitates book-to-screen adaptations was also present.
On the British side 12 producers including two scouting agencies—Maria B. Campbell Associates and CTL Scouting—were present. Producers coming from companies such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland’s Sunny March, Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee’s Home Team, and Yaw Basoah’s Dark Pictures were as varied as were the publishers, whether they were looking for documentaries, fiction films, thrillers, or graphic novels to adapt.
France’s Shoot the Book!’s meetings at literary and film festivals resemble somewhat the Frankfurter Buchmesse’s ‘Book-to-Screen’ initiative which is also present at the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival, where it partners with Shoot the Book!
Book-to-Screen, however, selects publishers and literary agencies from all over the world to pitch titles to European film producers, while Shoot the Book! works exclusively with French language publishers.
Publishers and producers meet at the French Institute credit Institut Francais
Networking with French publishers appeals to UK producer and director Sean McConville, who was at Shoot the Book! for his second time. McConville co-founded Frenzy Films with Stéphanie Joalland, which focuses on genre films: sci-fi, horror and thrillers. McConville said he was interested in French horror, and that besides being a big fan, had been deeply influenced by French cinema, “which is very genre-oriented,” he added.
Barthez said that a Shoot the Book! project in Madrid was on course, as well possible events in Nordic countries for 2027.
As transmedia storytelling develops, SCELF is not only bringing together publishers and producers, it is also broadening its strategy to support its member publishers by providing essential training in the legal framework for adaptation contracts, identifying books with potential for adaptation, or pitching to audiovisual industry professionals.