Georgina Capel, Chair and founder of our literary agency Georgina Capel Associates Ltd, announced today the formation of the agency’s new film and television development unit which has been incorporated as Miami Pictures Ltd.

The new company has struck a deal with Simon Shaps Ltd, a company created by ITV’s former Director of Television, Simon Shaps, to meet the growing demand from TV and film companies for material based on books. Shaps will work closely with the team at GCA Ltd to help steer the development of the company’s fiction and non-fiction titles for TV and film.

Shaps was a senior executive at ITV for more than 20 years. He was appointed as Director of Television after a number of years in TV production and on the merger of Carlton and Granada was appointed to run ITV’s global TV production business. He is also the former chair of the Royal Television Society and chaired the National Film and Television School for four years.

Georgina Capel said: ‘Miami Pictures has already made a very important addition to the range of services that we can offer to authors. There has been a huge surge of interest in our authors, particularly in our leading historians, since companies such as Amazon and Netflix have entered the market for making series suitable for their streaming services. And Simon Shaps brings with him both a wealth of experience in the media, and an evergreen enthusiasm for the books we represent.’

Simon Shaps said: ‘Georgina has built up an outstanding list of authors, across fiction and non-fiction and I am really excited to bring those authors’ work to new audiences. There has never been a better moment to realise the potential in the books and authors GCA Ltd has nurtured.’

A number of books are already in development with TV and film companies, in the UK and US. These include:

• BLACK DIAMONDS: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN ENGLISH DYNASTY by Catherine Bailey to Daybreak Pictures
• BLOOD ON THE ALTAR: IN SEARCH OF A SERIAL KILLER by Tobias Jones to Cosmopolitan Pictures
• A PLACE OF REFUGE: AN EXPERIMENT IN COMMUNAL LIVING by Tobias Jones to Cosmopolitan Pictures
• ONLY EVER YOURS by Louise O’Neill to Killer Content
• ASKING FOR IT by Louise O’Neill to Bandit Television
• NAPOLEON THE GREAT by Andrew Roberts to The Weinstein Company
• CATHERINE THE GREAT AND POTEMKIN: THE IMPERIAL LOVE AFFAIR by Simon Sebag Montefiore to Angelina Jolie and Universal Pictures
• TAKE SIX GIRLS: THE LIVES OF THE MITFORD SISTERS by Laura Thompson to Monumental Pictures

And deals to be announced shortly:

• SUPPER WITH THE CRIPPENS by David James Smith
• The Liz Carlyle spy thriller series by Stella Rimington
• JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• THE ROMANOVS by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• YOUNG STALIN by Simon Sebag Montefiore
• THE LIFE AND LOVES OF A SHE DEVIL by Fay Weldon
• DEATH OF A SHE DEVIL by Fay Weldon

For more information, please contact Georgina Capel georgina@georginacapel.com or Simon Shaps simon@georginacapel.com