Fiction to Features / April 2024
A returning authors issue! Featuring superpowers that turn bad, a deadly card game, and ominous fairies
Welcome back to Fiction to Features! Much of my April has consisted of rereading Anne of Green Gables and decorating my new apartment (!!!) in the spirit of Anne. I just love that girl Anne Shirley and need to be like her in every facet of my life!! And in terms of movies released this month….CHALLENGERS was pretty awesome and so was its score.
We have several returning authors in this issue, so pay attention to previously featured authors in the write-ups below.
Additionally, I wanted to make a minor correction to a typo found in last month’s newsletter. The author of “Where You Are Supposed to Be” is Serena W. Lin, and not Serena Lin. There are other authors named Serena Lin, so I wanted to clarify!
I hope you enjoy the 10 available stories this month. As always, please reach out to fictiontofeatures@gmail.com with any inquiries about the rights, or if you just want to say hi.
Happy reading!
THIS MONTH’S READS:
“New Classics: AI in the Writers’ Room” by Kate Brody, found on Noema
Logline: As their next work assignment, a group of writers works with an AI system to generate a new Hemingway novel.
Why it would work as a feature: This story deals with themes that are hauntingly relevant for writers working today, both in fiction and in screenwriting. I loved it! It plays with sci-fi in a way that is familiar, and it predicts what we could come to soon in this industry. I also loved that we saw characters who had dreams of writing themselves, but now had to work for this company where AI does the true writing. I think many writers would connect with this material and could do something fun with it. The escalating relationship between our narrator and Brayden is exciting and would make for a great B-plot. When Suri, the head of YA, comes to observe the room at work, I felt a great sense of tension that would serve for a strong midpoint, as it entirely shifts the dynamics. This could also make for an interesting play as it is so contained to one space. Could be seen as HER with this sophisticated AI meets THE SOCIAL NETWORK with the relationships among colleagues at a tech company.
“Face the Music” by P.A. Cornell, found in Factor Four Magazine
Logline: When people begin developing superpowers at random, it begins as an exciting transformation…until the powers begin killing off the superheroes.
Why it would work as a feature: It’s always a joy to read P.A. Cornell’s fiction. Always speculative, yet speaking volumes about the philosophy of human emotions. “Face the Music” is no exception. I loved the different superpowers as they could set the stage for an interesting cast of characters, such as our narrator’s power to get any song stuck in someone’s head, or Star Woman’s power to light up the night sky. There is some humor that could work well to bring levity to an otherwise dark and sad screenplay. A feature adaptation could take a few directions. Perhaps this story all occurs as part of the first act, and our narrator must see how he lives in this changing world where he cannot trust his powers. Alternatively, this story could detail all the major plot events in the feature and they would just be further developed, with the inciting incident being when our narrator first experiences his ear-worm power. Think of the prejudice against supers at the beginning of THE INCREDIBLES if it went even more downhill.
“American Girl” by Marne Litfin, found in Southeast Review
Logline: A college student experiences culture shock when she meets her girlfriend’s upper-class family during the holidays.
Why it would work as a feature: Any story that goes into explicit detail about American Girl catalogues, I. AM. THERE. Yes, I owned Felicity (the horse girl…yes that’s right) if you couldn’t tell by absolutely everything about me. But besides my own biases, this story was wonderful. Sharp style in its prose and I loved the nuances in the differences between Verity’s upbringing and Cecil’s upbringing. This sort of felt like if HAPPIEST SEASON had the same style of comedy as PEN15…so suffice it to say, it was excellent and exactly my taste. The ending is also shocking and exciting! Could be a great first act for a movie — a real holiday dramedy that I could see doing well on streaming. It could be exciting to see more of Cecil’s family and see how they react to her relationship and the use of her new name. Strong potential to build this world and explore the wealthy people in this upper-class town, especially when juxtaposed with Verity’s background. There is also real potential for conflict in the character dynamics here due to the difference in socioeconomic classes.
"Blackjack” by Veronica Schanoes, found in Reactor Mag
Logline: After running into her estranged ex-husband during a Vegas trip, a woman gambles for his soul in a high-stakes game of blackjack.
Why it would work as a feature: Veronica Schanoes is also the author of “Burning Girls,” which I featured in my spooky October issue. She especially shines in the inventive ways in which she incorporates Jewish folklore into her fiction, and this story was no exception. I loved hearing about our narrator, Josie’s, grief over the suicide of her daughter. There is so much character development and closure to be played with her arc that would suit a feature well. Additionally, the stakes are incredibly high since Josie bets her LITERAL soul during this game of blackjack…would make for an edge-of-your-seat scene! There is a lot of exposition in the beginning, which I think could definitely be cut down and told in a more visual manner to fit the medium of a feature. Otherwise, a strong short story with a fantastic ending that could create some real moments of drama and thrill. Would love for a Jewish filmmaker who can master suspense to helm this adaptation — perhaps a less experimental version of someone like Ari Aster.
“All Silky and Wonderful” by Ben Pester, found on Granta
Logline: After learning the news of an old friend’s death, a man is mysteriously dismissed from a commuter train after allegedly tampering with a fellow passenger’s bags and is transported to a hotel.
Why it would work as a feature: I especially enjoyed the way that grief paints this whole story. When the area around the bags is tampered with, the concerned feeling associated with them is now described as “existential.” There is so much to say about how one feels emotions before and after learning of the death of a loved one. Much is also left ambiguous in this story, while our narrator is able to find closure by discussing his memories of his deceased friend with the hotel porter. This could all be expanded upon in a feature, yet the narrative could still maintain its surreal sensibilities. An adaptation might do well if this story served mostly as the first act to the screenplay. From there, we could see how our narrator acts in this hotel and what sort of things he might discover about himself and his grief. I’d love to learn the magic of this hotel and how it gives our character closure. We could see this as a slightly sadder and more grounded version of a movie like BARTON FINK, another surreal film that takes place in a mysterious hotel.
“Waiting for Jonah” by Sharang Biswas, found in Nightmare Magazine
Logline: A closeted teenager’s best friend, Jonah, begins exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior as he becomes obsessed with a supernatural book about fairies.
Why it would work as a feature: If you’re looking for a homoerotic, dark fairy tale that features actual fairies, this could be the story for you! I featured another story by Sharang Biswas in my first issue ever (“Neunet”), and it was wonderful to see how much range he has when returning to his writing. I especially loved seeing the dynamic between Jonah and our unnamed narrator. Exciting character development, especially as our narrator understands his sexuality and that he is attracted to Jonah too. A feature adaptation would succeed if this story served as the first act more or less, and our narrator had to decide if he wanted to dive into this dark world of fairies with Jonah. I could really see this as a smaller indie horror film in the A24 camp. Perhaps a young protege of Guillermo del Toro could make this look great? Shocking that there are no true fairy horror films — we need one because they can and will be terrifying! Also for anyone who saw CHALLENGERS — I was feeling some similar undertones in this story.
“Your Dasher Has Accidentally Awakened the Crawling Chaos by Gazing into the Loathsome Geometry of the Taco Pup Mega-muncher Meal Box.” by David Anaxagoras, found in The Dread Machine
Logline: After a DoorDasher accidentally tampers with her customer’s order, she must fight through various horrors to successfully deliver their food.
Why it would work as a feature: Woooo this title is a mouthful! But I especially enjoyed the writing style of this story. So inventive to write it in the format of messages on DoorDash! It captures a unique voice and sets a fun and distinctive tone for the story that I think a filmmaker could really put their stamp on. I’d love to see an adaptation where our Dasher, Astrid, is a very normal woman who is thrust into this world of horrors without any real say in the matter. This story is very short, but an excellent vehicle for character development that I think could be exciting, especially if Astrid discovers a newfound sense of strength and agency in this new journey that she’s on. A filmmaker like Edgar Wright would be perfect with his snappy style.
“Evan: A Remainder” by Jordan Kurella, found in Reactor Mag
Logline: While beginning his gender transition and dating a new boyfriend, Evan starts throwing up various bones from his body to form a new skeleton from scratch.
Why it would work as a feature: This was a fun and quirky little story! I especially loved the metaphor of this new skeleton that Evan is slowly creating as all the parts of himself that he felt he needed to hide or change during his gender transition. This would make a great feature because of the character development that is inherent to any gender transition. I also loved the dynamic between Evan and his friend Katie as their friendship becomes distant. This could also raise the stakes for the story, in a story that is already disturbing due to the body horror and the creation of a skeleton boyfriend. An interesting sort of FRAKENSTEIN narrative that deals with gender and sexuality in a fresh way.
“The Plasticity of Being” by Renan Bernardo, found in Reactor Mag
Logline: A Brazilian journalist covers a story of people living in a landfill, and must cope with how her previous career led to their current living situation.
Why it would work as a feature: A dystopian short story that tackles wealth disparity? LOVED IT! I especially loved seeing our narrator, Elisa, as she coped with her guilt in leading her former employer to create this substance that made plastic an edible substance, thus allowing this community to survive in this landfill. The nonlinear narrative flows well in this story, although it could benefit from some revisions as a feature. We could perhaps remove the storyline of Elisa as a journalist from a feature adaptation entirely, and instead focus on her rise to working in PR at Verdidea to then push for the poor to eat plastic. This might help to streamline the story. Sort of reminded me of the horror novel Tender is the Flesh, but set in a non-violent rendition of the world in CITY OF GOD.
“Child” by Beth Hull, found in Bourbon Penn
Logline: On their thirteenth birthday, Child must undergo a surgery to decide if they will live the rest of their life as a man or a woman.
Why it would work as a feature: So imaginative and complex, “Child” would make for an excellent first act in a film. This reminded me a bit of ROOM if it had a gender element to it. The conflict that Child feels upon having to choose their gender, and then ultimately deciding to flee their parents, would make for an impactful arc. There is so much we could do with this story once Child leaves and starts a new life on their own. I love the suggestion that Child is intersex, as it is refreshing to see an intersex character in fiction. I am definitely biased because Middlesex is my favorite book ever written, but I can’t help myself! Read this story!!!
That’s it for the April issue of Fiction to Features! Hope you all are reading something fabulous and watching some excellent films.
To quote my favorite fictional character, “It just makes me glad to be alive — it’s such an interesting world.” I love you, Anne Shirley!
Until next month,
Meghan x