Beckwith joins Hachette as head of media development from HarperCollins

Lana Beckwith will join the Hachette UK group rights team as head of media development on 22nd May, succeeding  Fern McCauley who left the company in February. Beckwith is currently senior film, TV and theatrical rights manager at HarperCollins.

She has spent the past seven years focusing on media rights and development projects, working across fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, and has sold rights to major studios, production companies, independent filmmakers and theatre companies, including Columbia Pictures, Pulse Films, Altitude, Avalon and Clapperboard Studios. She has also worked in communications, digital and business development.

In her new role, Beckwith will report to Rebecca Folland, Hachette UK’s group rights director, and be based at Hachette UK’s London office. She will be responsible for handling all book-to-film and TV rights deals for the business and will work closely with the editorial teams, from creation and media exploration to acquisition.

Beckwith said: "I am delighted to be embarking on this new chapter at Hachette UK, after many wonderful and fulfilling years at HarperCollins. The opportunity to work with the brilliant publishing teams at Hachette and their incredibly talented authors is so exciting, particularly at a time when creative content has never been more in demand across all media platforms.

“I always feel immensely fortunate to be able to combine all of my greatest passions in my job, and I can’t wait to help bring more of Hachette’s fantastic books to the screen, stage and airwaves."

Folland said “We can’t wait for Lana to join us.  In the year or so since we’ve had this dedicated role in place, we’ve seen a significant uptick in our media business.  The minute I met Lana, I knew she had the perfect combination of skills, experience and knowledge to build on Fern’s brilliant work and to keep media development at the heart of our rights business.”