New York’s International Literary Properties (ILP) has acquired rights to the catalogues of four kids authors, and plans to develop TV, digital and publishing content based on their work. BBC Studios will get to evaluate the IPs before any other potential partners, thanks to its first-look deal with ILP.

The authors covered by the option are Martin Waddell, Adèle Geras, Gianna Marino and Sheila Burnford, and they collectively bring more than 300 kids & family titles to the table. Waddell, the scribe behind the Little Bear book series and Owl Babies, has written 200-plus titles that have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide. Geras (Troy, The Little Swan) has upwards of 100 books to her credit, with another dozen for Marino (If I Had a Horse, Following Papa’s Song). And Burnford (who died in 1984) is best known for writing The Incredible Journey (pictured), which inspired the 1963 and 1993 Disney films Homeward Bound and Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.

ILP, which opened its doors in 2019, curates and markets publishing IPs as part of a strategy to introduce books to new global audiences. It first started acquiring TV rights in 2020 and has since inked deals with Red Arrow Studios and Playground to adapt Georges Simenon’s Maigret detective series.

The company’s team includes a few executives with kids industry experience, including former Silvergate Media CEO Mary Durkan, who is ILP’s head of acquisitions in the UK and Europe. Lisa Logan, an ex-legal advisor/paralegal for Disney and Nickelodeon, joined the company in July 2022 as general counsel for the UK and EMEA.