Book Adaptation Forum Pitching Day

The Book Adaptation Forum (BAF) will showcase preview titles and include different targets and readerships. The international jury—composed of Raffaella De Angelis, Head of Literary Acquisitions, Global Drama & Film, Fremantle (United Kingdom); Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, director, screenwriter, producer, and founder of Cinedora, producer of Vermiglio (Italy); Luke Franklin, Executive Producer, See Saw Films (United Kingdom); Nathanaël Poupin, Agent and Founder, 360 Talent Management (Italy); and Lorenza Lei, CEO, Fondazione Roma Lazio Film Commission (Italy) — has selected 10 unpublished books, which will be presented in a pitch session.

The selection ranges from a feel-good tale set in the mountains about rebirth—LA VOLTA GIUSTA by Lorenza Gentile (Feltrinelli)—to a preview spy story centered on a conspiracy involving Hitler’s lover, RIPARARE I TORTI by Pino Cacucci (Mondadori); from a disquieting, visionary narrative revolving around a wealthy sex influencer who must reconnect with her family of origin, L'ERA DELL'ACQUARIO by Fabio Bacà (Adelphi), to an international preview thriller set along the railway route between the Dolomites and Austria—THE ENGINEER by Pierre Chevalier (Alban Editions). Also featured are a sophisticated, slow-burning story centered on a woman grappling with her desire, UN ANIMALE INNOCENTE by Letizia Pezzali (Einaudi); and a light, engaging children’s tale about a “magic whistle,” SUPER-SDENTATA by Lisa Riccardi (Il Battello a Vapore). There is space as well for a crime novel set in Turin with an unexpectedly drawn protagonist, IL SUONO DELL'ANIMA by Monica Manganelli (IR Indipendent R-Evolution); a legal serial in which a former police officer turned lawyer fights for the truth in a trial for uxoricide—L'INGANNO DI MAGRITTE by Alessandro Perissinotto and Piero D’Ettorre (Mondadori); an international debut exploring the wounds within the family of a tennis player accused of sexual assault, IMPLOSION by Laurance Florisca Rivard (Heliotrope Editions); and finally, a noir that exposes the clandestine trafficking of young African footballers, LA COLPA È DI CHI MUORE by Marco Bellinazzo (Fandango).