Chained Birds: A Crimemoir

By Carla Conti on Sat, 12/07/2025 - 07:43
Screenplay Type
Book Adaptation Needed
Genre
Crime
Logline or Premise
CHAINED BIRDS: A CRIMEMOIR

After a brutal prison stabbing, journalist Carla Conti agrees to help an old friend investigate—and finds herself drawn into a dangerous alliance with a convict who has everything to lose. Her story exposes the untold struggles, deadly risks, and the human cost of a broken prison and criminal justice system.
Submission Upload
1060759.pdf

Comments

Stewart Carry Thu, 31/07/2025 - 16:23

The prologue alone, the murder of the prison officer, is such a powerful hook that we become engaged immediately. The writing conveys the horror of the young man's demise so well that it's almost visceral, palpably and painfully real. I cannot see any difficulty in adapting this other than the need for additional material to complete the story in the format of a feature script. If there's enough in the entire book, a mini-series for television might be a possibility.

Carla Conti Thu, 21/08/2025 - 16:03

Stewart, I appreciate your thoughtful insight and have always seen my book play out as a movie in my head. Before CHAINED BIRDS launched last fall, it was on Netgalley as an ARC and drew the attention of a UK TV-Film production company that inquired about film rights. That was exciting for about three months until they passed, which I understand is quite typical in the industry. But ever since then, I've been trying to capitalize on the fact that one reputable production house has given CHAINED BIRDS serious consideration for adaptation. I do have so much supplemental material that isn't in the book that could be used for a limited streaming series. And at least at this time, I do not have the screenwriting chops to do a series justice ... so I appreciate getting eyes on my book like yours to hopefully garner some more interest :-)

Robin Kaczmarczyk Mon, 04/08/2025 - 04:14

There is too much material here for just one movie. This would have to become a miniseries - but a good prison miniseries is gold. ANd there is gold here, with the right adaptation.

Carla Conti Thu, 21/08/2025 - 16:09

Thanks for your comment, Robin. I do have so much supplemental material that can be used for a limited streaming series. As I mentioned in a reply to someone else, prior to CHAINED BIRDS' launch last fall, it was on Netgalley as an ARC and drew the attention of a UK TV-Film production company that inquired about film rights. They passed after thinking about it for three months, but ever since then, I've been trying to capitalize on the fact that one reputable production house has given my book serious consideration for adaptation. At this time, I do not have the screenwriting chops to do a series justice, so I'm thankful for this platform and the new eyes that might find my project :-)

Continent
Northern America