I'm delighted, as you might imagine, to be able to pass on this news release from my literary agency Blake Friedmann...
<blockquote>The Blake Friedmann Agency is pleased to announce that a deal has been signed between David Hewson and Bavaria Media Italia for all eleven of Hewson’s contemporary crime novels based in Italy.

Bavaria Media Italia optioned screen rights in order to develop and produce a major international series of six television movies. The series is planned to be shot in English by Bavaria which will work in conjunction with co-production partners from several European territories. Bavaria’s Philipp Kreuzer will Executive Produce the series; Bavaria Media TV will handle international sales. The concept for the series is currently being written in Rome.

The deal was negotiated for Hewson by Conrad Williams of Blake Friedmann’s Film/TV department and for Bavaria by Philipp Kreuzer and legal counsel Georg Hoess.

Said David Hewson: “It is enormously flattering to have eleven of your books snapped up for option in one swoop and with such high ambitions for English language, feature length TV dramas.  There is a lot of work to be done on a project of this magnitude. I am happy that it has already started.”

Bavaria plans to develop and partner this series in 2011 with production slated for 2012. It will be shot on location in and around central Rome.</blockquote>
<!--more-->I'm very grateful to Conrad Williams of Blake Friedmann for concluding this very wide-ranging agreement. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria_Film" target="_blank">Bavaria</a> are one of the biggest media groups in Europe and have optioned all current ten books in the series, including two yet to be published titles, <em>The Fallen Angel</em> and next year's <em>The Plague Doctor. </em>They have also optioned the standalone <em>The Cemetery of Secrets (US Lucifer's Shadow) </em>which ties in with the fourth Costa book, <em>The Lizard's Bite. </em>It's particularly gratifying that, while these are destined to be English language productions, the initial interest came from Rome where, as the release says, the project will be based.

And quick answers to two questions I'm being asked already...
<ul>
	<li><em>Will you write the scripts? </em>No. I'm a novelist, not a scriptwriter, but I will be there to offer my thoughts if needed.</li>
	<li><em>Who will play Costa, Teresa, Peroni... </em>Sorry... far too early to say.</li>
</ul>
When there is more news I'll happily pass it on.