A big kid at Kidscreen

This week I’ll be trading the London drizzle for the sunshine of Miami…well, at least the indoor air-conditioning of a conference hotel.  For the first time ever, Kidscreen, the annual get together of the global kids media industry, will swap Manhattan for Miami.

Check out my speedboat!

I first went to Kidscreen back in 2004, when I was a fledgling producer with one IP under my arm: Choose Your Own Adventure.

Before the iPad, an interactive movie on DVD

I met some great people, learned a ton, and kept coming back.

Since becoming an author, however, I’ve mostly been off the industry trail; choosing the solitude of the writing desk over the buzz and networking of the industry markets (note: Kidscreen is not actually a market like MIP, but it’s evolved into a market place for ideas). But this year, buoyed by the success of  Trucktown (which I’m making with Nelvana and uber-awesome author Jon Scieszka), I’ve decided to don my creative producer hat once again and brave the waters of Biscayne Bay.

Does this look like work?

I’m setting sail to put together TV projects based on my books!

It’s all about the right people, and already in the lead up to Kidscreen, three of my books are in the process of being optioned for TV…which is freakin’ amazing!  (there will be proper press releases and all that jazz in the coming weeks).

For now, however, I’m looking forward to catching up with old colleagues, making new connections, and working towards bringing my awesome books to screens around the world.   My belief is that by mounting TV/media based on my books, I can get more people interested in reading the books….creating a virtuous funnel of media to literacy.

So I’m packing my all my characters, Princess Ponies, Neurotic Zombie, vegan vampire, dragon avatars (MetaWars), and even some new ones, to play match-maker with the the best broadcasters, SVODs, and co-producers in the world.

Wish us luck!

Oh, and if you’re in Miami, please do swing by to the panel I’m hosting on Tuesday, 24th at 4:15 pm….all about adapting books to screen.  Details are here.