Philly novelist Weiner cuts 7-figure TV deal

Queen Village author Jennifer Weiner will feed ideas to ABC Studios as part of a seven-figure, two-year agreement reported yesterday in the Hollywood trades.

"I hate to say this, but it's a really fantastic deal," said Weiner, a former Inquirer reporter who has written the bestsellers Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, Little Earthquakes and Goodnight Nobody, in an interview today. "I don't have to do anything."

She said he is simply expected to pitch the network story ideas that can be made into series. "I can be as involved in them or not involved in them as I want to be," she said. ABC also has not given her a quota. "But it's not like they're coming to Philadelphia to shake me by the ankles till something falls out," she said.

She declined to talk about any ideas she is working on; her blog indicates that they'll include "non-size-zero characters." Her books - already optioned or produced - are off the table as fodder for series. Her latest novel, Certain Girls, the sequel to Good in Bed, was published this month.

"Some of my ideas lend themselves better to the cameras," she said, adding that she would "love to do something set in Philadelphia."

ABC Studios president Mark Pedowitz noted in Variety that Weiner already has "legions of fans" that are likely to want to check out a series created by her.

"They respond to her wry wit, embrace her smart characters and want to live in the worlds she creates," Pedowitz said.

Weiner, 38 and the oldest of four children, said the deal was brokered by her youngest sibling, Joe, an entertainment lawyer. Previous deals were handled by her brother Jake.

Having a sibling handle a business deal is important. "I know I'll get my calls returned," she said.

The Reporter noted that Weiner's deal follows ABC's collaboration with author Cecelia Ahern, which led to the comedy Samantha Who?