Industry News

Second Stage Theater has announced complete casting for Camp Siegfried, a new play by Tony nominee Bess Wohl (AB ’96)! Performances will begin October 25 ahead of a November 15 opening at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theater. (TheaterMania)

Netflix has graduated its first cohort from its Series Director Development Program, which was led by former DGA president and two-time Emmy winner Paris Barclay (AB ’79). (HollywoodReporter)

Clive Davis (AB ‘56) is among the recipients of the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of a Nation awards, which “honor extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people across all fields of endeavor from the arts and sciences.” (Deadline)

The Real Book Spy says The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (AB '95) is an "impossible-to-miss thriller" and a "blockbuster hit" and notes how Hurwitz "continues to expertly develop his hero" in a book that has "everything his fans love, plus so much more." (The Real Book Spy)

The London Film Festival is set to premiere Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, a reimagining of the fairytale co-directed by del Toro and Lisa Henson (AB ’82). (NME)

Paramount+ has released the trailer for their upcoming original film On the Come Up during the 2022 MTV VMAs. Based on Angie Thomas’ best-selling novel, On the Come Up is the feature directorial debut of Sanaa Lathan and is produced by Marty Bowen (AB ’91). (Deadline)

Bonnie Raitt (AB ‘72), Elvis Costello, Buddy Guy and Jackson Browne are among the international stars set to play at Bluesfest in 2023 – the first time since 2019 the popular Byron Bay festival has featured overseas artists. (SMH)

Adam Grant (AB ’03), a bestselling author and organizational psychologist at Wharton, will deliver an opening day keynote on Monday, January 9, 2023, at PCMA's annual Convening Leaders. (EINNews)

The Japanese-language production of the Tony-winning revival of Pippin, directed by Tony-winner Diane Paulus (AB ’88), reopened August 30 at the Tokyu Theatre Orb and continued through September 19. (Playbill)

Causeway, a new drama produced by Reginald Hudlin (AB ’83) and starring Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier adjusting to life after returning home to New Orleans, will premiere on Apple TV+ on November 4. (Variety)

The second single from the long-awaited new recording project from China Forbes (AB ’92) is Rise, a tribute to Forbes’s friend and former Pink Martini bandmate, percussionist Derek Rieth, who lost a long battle with bi-polar disorder and died by suicide in 2014. (YouTube)

Vertical Entertainment has just released the official trailer for The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, a romantic drama based on the 2014 bestselling novel by Gabrielle Zevin (AB ’99). The film is directed by Hans Canosa (AB ’93) from a script by Zevin. (Collider)

Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem, the Hulu series in the works that stars Mandy Patinkin and Jack Cutmore-Scott (AB ’10), has added Linda Emond (The Gilded Age) and Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards) as cast members. (Deadline)

By directing Baby Ruby, Bess Wohl (AB ’96) wanted “to get to the root of everything that’s not talked about when it comes to parenthood.” The psychological thriller stars Noémie Merlant and Kit Harington and premiered at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. (Variety)

Jennifer Coolidge transforms into Karen, an elite New Jersey real estate agent at the center of Ryan Murphy’s latest true crime miniseries, The Watcher, which is executive produced by Paris Barclay (AB ’79). (IndieWire)

Elisabeth Shue (AB ‘86), best known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Back to the Future Parts II and III, Hollow Man (2000), Battle of the Sexes (2017), and Death Wish (2018), will appear at Rhode Island Comic Con November 4-6. (Back to the Future)

A product of the Met’s commissioning program, composer Matthew Aucoin (AB ‘12) and librettist Sarah Ruhl have adapted Ruhl’s acclaimed 2003 play reimagining the Orpheus myth from Eurydice’s point of view into a new opera. (MET)

The Jim Henson Company is developing All-of-a-Kind Family, a live-action one-hour drama series about a Jewish family in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1911, based on the collection of books by Sydney Taylor and executive produced by Lisa Henson (AB ’82). (Deadline)

New Members' Welcome

Harvardwood warmly welcomes all members who joined the organization last month:

• Shannon Gaughan-Bowman, College, LA
• Tal Vaval, Ext., BOS/Campus
• John Matthews, College, SF/Bay Area
• Mahnoor Ali, College, LA
• Shehzad Niazi, HMS, Florida
• Claire Liu, College, BOS/Campus
• Ethan Reichsman, College, NY
• Nicholas Bowman, FOH, LA
• Taehwan Kim, College, BOS/Campus
• Ravin Agrawal, College, LA
• Saffron Agrawal, College, BOS/Campus
• Carey Ann Strelecki, GSE, LA
• Kathleen Benson, College, BOS/Campus
• Alina Taratorin, College, NY
• Sabrina Reznik, College, NY
• Haley Brown, GSBA, BOS/Campus
• Ilse Nusbaum, Radcliffe, LA
• James Davis, GSE, BOS/Campus
• Jon May, College, BOS/Campus
• Grace Coolidge, College, NY
• Lana Newishy, GSBA, Florida

Exclusive Q&A with Nikki Erlick AB ’16 (author)

Nikki Erlick AB '16 is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Measure, which was selected as Jenna Bush Hager and The TODAY Show’s #ReadWithJenna Book Club pick, as well as the Barnes & Noble Discover Pick. Translations of The Measure are forthcoming in 14 languages. Her writing has also appeared online with New York Magazine, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Literary Hub, and Vox Media. She graduated Harvard University summa cum laude and was an editor of The Harvard Crimson. She earned her master's degree in Global Thought from Columbia University.


Q: Your debut novel, The Measure, was an instant New York Times Bestseller after its release this past June. Why do you think the themes, characters, and storyline of your book are so resonant with readers? How do you feel your novel connects to society and the world around you?

I started writing this book at least a year before the onset of the pandemic, so it’s been quite powerful to see the way the story has resonated upon publication. Even from the earliest brainstorms in late 2018, I always intended for this novel to explore questions of how we value our own lives, how we value other people’s lives, how we want to spend our time, and what our priorities are in life. But those questions have taken on an even greater sense of relevance and urgency in light of recent global challenges, which has allowed the story to resonate in a much deeper way than I ever anticipated, and I’m incredibly grateful to every reader and bookseller who has recommended this book as a way to potentially reflect upon these difficult years.

Q: The premise for The Measure is fascinating: one day, a box appears on everyone’s doorstep containing the knowledge of the amount of time they have left to live. How did you come up with the idea? How did you know that was the idea you should follow through with when brainstorming?

I’ve always been drawn to big questions: How much control do we have in our lives? How much power do we have over our destiny? I wanted to see if I could tackle these big questions in the form of a story, because I’m someone who turns to stories to help me make sense of the world and navigate its many complexities. As I was wondering how to craft a story about something as complicated as destiny, I remembered the ancient Greek vision of fate. I was fascinated by the figures of the Three Fates, who had this immense power to spin the strings of life on their spindle and measure out the amount of time that each of us would receive. I couldn’t help but wonder, what if? What if we were able to see our strings? How would that impact our world? What would we do with that knowledge?

The decision to have the strings arrive in a box for each person came a little bit later, when I realized that I wanted people to have a choice of whether or not they would look at their string. Even if the characters’ fates are pre-determined in one sense, they still retain a sense of power and agency when it comes to choosing whether or not they wish to know, and then, of course, choosing how to use that knowledge. The box itself was inspired by another famous Greek myth—Pandora’s Box—as the ultimate test of willpower: Can you resist the temptation to look?

I knew this was the idea that I would stick with when I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it, and all the potential characters and problems that could arise from this premise.

Q: Did you always know The Measure would be a novel, or did you play with other forms (screenplay, short story, etc.) initially?

My dream had always been to write a novel, and The Measure was actually my first attempt at a full-length manuscript.

Q: Your writing career spans across genres, not limited just to fiction. What type of writing is your favorite to do?

I received a crash-course in journalism as soon as I joined The Harvard Crimson, and I’m so grateful for the training I received in reporting, interviewing, writing, and editing. I’ve loved my assignments as a journalist and travel writer—exploring new corners of the world and meeting so many fascinating people—but writing this novel has been the most challenging and rewarding of all my experiences so far.

Q: What is the biggest challenge of writing a novel? What did you find was the easiest part?

I think the greatest obstacles, as a first-time author, were simply all of the unknowns and the accompanying self-doubt: Was this even a good idea for a story? Would I actually be able to complete a full manuscript? And if I did complete it, would anyone want to publish it? Writing a novel had been my dream for a long time, so there was a lot of fear and uncertainty as to whether this was, in fact, an impossible dream.

I’m not sure that any of it felt easy, but in those magical moments when the writing flowed smoothly, it certainly felt fun. And the whole process—from finishing the first draft to connecting with thousands of readers this past summer—has felt incredibly fulfilling.

Q: Who are your biggest writing influences?

Oh my goodness, there are too many to list! As a young reader, the works of Lois Lowry, Natalie Babbitt, Betty Smith, and Markus Zusak stand out in my memory, awakening my love of reading and showing me the many magical directions that a story can take, as well as the profound emotional impact of fiction. Two of my favorite contemporary authors are Ann Patchett—her style is beautiful, and her wide range of different tales is truly impressive—and Ted Chiang—his imagination is astonishing, and his short stories are deeply thought-provoking. But the greatest influence on my writing will always be my family, for inspiring me, supporting me, and encouraging me to pursue my passion.

Q: How do you feel that your time at Harvard prepared you for your career as a travel writer, a journalist, and now an author?

My time at Harvard gave me the incredible freedom to spend hours and hours immersed in books. I studied Comparative Literature, so I was exposed to a wide variety of literature from around the world, and my main extracurricular was writing for The Crimson. I spent four years constantly thinking about language, storytelling, structure, themes, and ideas. It was an excellent training ground in all forms of writing.

Q: What feedback or review have you received for The Measure that’s been the most exciting to you?

It was quite thrilling to see my novel featured in the New York Times Book Review—and also an incredible honor and excitement to be profiled in the New York Times myself and interviewed live on The TODAY Show—but I think the most meaningful interactions have been the personal exchanges with readers who reached out to me directly just to share how much the story meant to them or how it resonated with an experience in their own lives. It’s been a real privilege to have so many people share their stories with me.

Q: What media are you currently consuming? What are your recommendations for compelling, powerful, or just straight-up delightful books/shows/films/etc.?

I try to read and watch widely across different genres. Some recent books I enjoyed: The Candy House by Jennifer Egan, Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang, The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd. Some recent shows I enjoyed: Severance, Call My Agent, For All Mankind, What We Do in the Shadows, Abbott Elementary.

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring young novelists? Any tips on getting your manuscript seen by a publisher?

I think the most common advice that I was given was to “keep writing,” which of course is excellent advice. But, sometimes, it felt difficult to keep writing when I had no idea if anyone other than my family was ever going to read what I was writing! For me, the best advice was actually to keep reading. Writing can be challenging, and we all suffer from bouts of writer’s block, but reading is a never-ending well of inspiration. And reading a wide variety of stories will provide the best sense of what’s possible on the page and what makes you personally feel excited and inspired.

In terms of getting your manuscript in front of a publisher, my best advice is to find an agent with whom you feel a genuine connection—and can see yourself building a lifelong career alongside. Fortunately, many publishing agents are open to email queries from unpublished writers where you can pitch your novel directly. The hardest part is that you can’t just pitch an idea—you have to finish writing a full-length manuscript before you can start querying agents!

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

I just moved from NYC to Los Angeles earlier this year, so I’ve been using any free time to explore this new city. And I’m always looking for new spots to visit, so if anyone has a favorite place to share, please let me know!

Nikki Erlick's book The Measure was published in May 2022 and can be purchased on Amazon and other places where books are sold.

Photo Credit: Federico Photography

Join us for a virtual conversation with novelist Winnie M Li AB '00 about her latest novel, Complicit, which explores #MeToo in the film industry. She’ll also discuss activism born out of lived experience, survivorhood and writing, and the ethics of commercializing a #MeToo narrative.

Winnie M Li is an author and activist.  She worked as a film producer in London before her life was disrupted by a violent stranger rape in Belfast in 2008. Her debut novel, Dark Chapter, is a fictional retelling of that event from victim and perpetrator perspectives. Translated into ten languages, it won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize and was nominated for an Edgar Award.  She is currently adapting it for the screen. Her second novel, Complicit, was published in Summer 2022 and selected by The New York Times for their ‘Group Text' book club. Winnie is also Co-Founder of the Clear Lines Festival, the UK’s first-ever festival addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. Her ongoing PhD research at the London School of Economics explores media engagement by rape survivors as a form of activism. Winnie holds an honorary doctorate of law from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her writing and activism, and currently lives in the English countryside with her partner and toddler.

Join us for a virtual conversation about the international TV business, including adaptations, acquisitions, local-language productions, distribution channels — and everything in between! We will hear from four industry experts: Lindsay Goffman, Noel Manzano, Mark Goffman and Adam Fratto. 

From left: Lindsay Goffman, Noel Manzano, Mark Goffman and Adam Fratto.