Adaptation to Film & TV for Novelists and Memoirists. Kat O'Brien, Instructor

Registration opens on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

 

IOWA SUMMER WRITING FESTIVAL

 

Spring 2025

 

Adaptation to Film & TV for Novelists and Memoirists (Five-Week Workshop)

 

Kat O’Brien, Instructor

 

 

Dates/Time

 

Wednesdays on Zoom, April 2–30, 2025

·      1:00 pm–3:30 pm Iowa/Central Time

·      2:00 pm–4:30 pm Eastern Time

·      11:00 am–1:30 pm Pacific  Time

·      12:00 pm–2:30 pm Mountain Time

 

Fee: $600

 

 

Course Description

 

Has anyone ever told you that your book should be a movie or TV series? In this five-week course led by award-winning screenwriter, producer, and story consultant, Kat O’Brien, you will explore how to strategically adapt your novel or memoir for film and television. Through lectures, discussions, generative writing, and workshops, we’ll develop the essential industry tools and cinematic storytelling techniques you need to position your manuscript for adaptation to screen.  

 

Each week will take writers deeper into a step-by-step process to conceptualize the adaption of their novel or memoir for the most appropriate cinematic platform. Writers will be empowered to develop professional pitch-ready materials of their choice—such as loglines, synopses, outlines, one-pagers, pitch decks, and videos—based on their unique interests. At the end of the course, writers will present their project and receive feedback from peers and the instructor. 

 

This course is designed for novelists and memoirists with manuscripts (complete or incomplete) or published books who are curious about the process of adapting their material for film and/or television. Our workshop will specifically support writers either developing a first draft suited for future adaptation, parallel writing a manuscript and screenplay, and/or seeking to sell and adapt the film/TV rights to a completed manuscript or published book. We’ll collaborate in a low-pressure, supportive environment that encourages creative experimentation as we demystify why and how certain manuscripts and books find their ways to the big screen. 

 

This workshop includes a 30-minute one-on-one conference with the instructor. 

 

Takeaways 

• Explore the fundamentals of adapting a novel or memoir for film and television. 

• Develop professional pitch materials, including loglines, synopses, and one-pagers. 

• Gain an insider’s understanding of how to adapt your story, pitch it effectively, and navigate the first steps toward getting your work noticed in the film and television industry. 

 

 

Instructor

 

For over 20 years, Kat O’Brien has developed film and television for Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, Anonymous Content, Focus Features, Rogue Pictures, Alcon Entertainment Morgan Creek Productions, Blue Star Entertainment, and numerous internationally renowned and critically acclaimed independent filmmakers and television producers. During the pandemic, Kat executive produced We Still Teach TV, for which she was awarded the Chicago Teachers’ Union LEAD award as a champion for education justice. As a world-renowned expert in story development, Kat has consulted for the Doha Film Institute and Film AlUla, and teaches at the University of Chicago, DePaul University, and The Second City Film School. She holds a BFA in Writing for Film and Television from the University of Southern California. You can read more and contact her at kobwriting.com.

 

 

Registration & Fees

 

The fee for this course is $600. Payment in full is required to register.

Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Class size is limited to 12.

 

Note: Your credit card payment will be processed by an external provider and will appear on your credit card statement as “UI Writing—Magid Center.”

 

Refund & Cancellation Policy

 

If you need to cancel your enrollment, please let us know as soon as possible. We can only offer full refunds if you cancel one week prior to the start of class. After that, before the start-date of class, we can offer a 50% refund. We cannot refund day-of cancellations, and we cannot refund or partially refund registration fees once the class has begun.

 

Terms & Community Policy

 

1.  The Iowa Summer Writing Festival is a program for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to enroll in Festival workshops.

 

2.  The Iowa Summer Writing Festival is a community built on an assumption of shared enterprise, in the spirit of mutual respect. We reserve the right to a) revoke the registration of or b) dismiss from the program any person who disrupts the learning/working environment of others. Participants in the Festival are subject to all University of Iowa policies governing conduct in our community, whether online or in person.

 

Questions?

 

Contact the Iowa Summer Writing Festival: iswfestival@uiowa.edu. Phone: (319) 335-4160.

 

Our small staff is out and about. If you phone and we miss you, please leave a detailed message!