Big Bucks in Teen Book Series Adaptations

July 31, 2008— -- This Friday, at midnight, as you walk out of the movies with your loved ones, take a peek at the Barnes & Noble next to the theater, and you're likely to see thousands of teenage girls – along with their moms and possibly even grandmothers – lined up out front.

They'll be eagerly awaiting their copies of "Breaking Dawn," the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, a vampire romance saga that has launched a fanaticism not seen since the likes of "Harry Potter."

The first three books in the series have sold a combined 8 million copies worldwide. That's staggering, considering the high-end print run for a teen novel is 500,000. In fact, Entertainment Weekly ran a cover story on the author and her "Twilighters" -- what the fans have dubbed themselves -- as they gear up for what many bookstores have dubbed Vampire Weekend.

The success of the books has spawned a hotly anticipated film version, due to hit theaters Dec. 12 and starring Kristen Stewart ("The Messengers," "Panic Room") as Bella, an average mortal girl who falls hard for a godlike vampire. Fans have been tracking every move of the film's production on the Web and even sporting T-shirts that delineate whether they're Team Edward or Team Jacob, playing out the love triangle in the books.

But "Twilight" is hardly the only teen novel to get the big-screen treatment. "Harry Potter" aside, there's big bucks to be made in teen book adaptations.

Just ask Les Morgenstein, president of Alloy Entertainment. For years, Morgenstein and his bicoastal crew have been churning out hit teen books -- the original company was formed to support the "Sweet Valley High" books. Alloy set up "Roswell," a series of books for teens about humanlike aliens in high school, which later became a TV series on the WB.

"'Roswell' was the lightbulb moment for me that these books we were doing could really translate to film and TV," Morgenstein said. "We had developed the book property, and then when Hollywood bought the rights, we were sort of pushed out of it. So I thought, 'Why shouldn't we get in on the ground floor? It's all about owning the intellectual property, the concept.' So now, in New York, we're developing the book concept, finding the right writer. And in L.A., we're finding the screenwriter and developing the script. We're not just in on the ground floor, we are the ground floor."