12 Notable Authors Who Ventured into Hollywood Screenwriting

Writing a best-selling novel doesn't guarantee success in screenwriting. While some authors manage to make the leap to Hollywood with notable results, others face setbacks. Here are 12 well-known authors who tried their hand at writing for the screen—and how their experiences turned out.

1. F. Scott Fitzgerald / Screenplay: Three Comrades (1938)

In 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, joining a wave of novelists seeking new opportunities as screenwriters. Despite contributing to the 1938 film Three Comrades, his screenplay was largely rewritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, leaving Fitzgerald with only one credited screenplay. While Fitzgerald did produce several treatments, rewrites, and script revisions within the studio system, his work was often deemed unsuitable for adaptation, with few producers or directors recognizing its potential.

Most notably, Fitzgerald contributed to the screenplay of Gone With the Wind, but the pages he submitted to producer David O. Selznick were ultimately rejected. Reports suggest that Fitzgerald was instructed to strictly adhere to the text of Margaret Mitchell’s novel, leaving little room for creative deviation from the original material.

2. William Faulkner / Screenplay: The Big Sleep (1946)

In 1932, renowned author William Faulkner signed a contract with MGM Studios to work as a screenwriter, seeking financial stability after his acclaimed novels The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and Sanctuary failed to achieve widespread commercial success. Over a 22-year career, Faulkner contributed to more than 50 films with 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. His most notable work, however, was his collaboration with Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman on the 1946 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, a landmark film in the film noir genre.

3. John Steinbeck / Screenplay: Lifeboat (1944)

Considered one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, John Steinbeck transitioned to Hollywood as a screenwriter after his return from World War II. He wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat in 1943. Although Steinbeck received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, he later insisted his name be removed from the film, citing that Hitchcock had introduced an underlying racist element that Steinbeck did not wish to be associated with.

4. Dave Eggers / Screenplay: Away We Go (2009), Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Author of the New Sincerity movement and founder of McSweeney's, Dave Eggers made a shift to screenwriting in the late 2000s. In 2009, he co-wrote the Sam Mendes-directed film Away We Go alongside his wife Vendela Vida, and also adapted Maurice Sendak's beloved Where The Wild Things Are with director Spike Jonze. While continuing his acclaimed writing career in fiction and non-fiction, Eggers also worked on screenplays for indie films, including Promised Land, co-written with Matt Damon and John Krasinski for director Gus Van Sant.

5. Nick Hornby / Screenplay: An Education (2009)

Nick Hornby, the British novelist and essayist behind the popular books High Fidelity, About A Boy, and How to be Good, ventured into screenwriting in 2009. He adapted journalist Lynn Barber’s memoir into the British coming-of-age film An Education for director Lone Scherfig. The film closely followed its source material and received widespread acclaim, earning three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress for Carey Mulligan, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hornby.

Hornby is currently adapting Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir Wild for Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée.

6. Cormac McCarthy / Screenplay: The Counselor (2013)

Cormac McCarthy’s novels have provided the foundation for some of the most acclaimed films of the past decade, including All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and the Academy Award-winning No Country for Old Men by Joel and Ethan Coen. In 2013, McCarthy made his screenwriting debut with the original script for The Counselor, directed by Ridley Scott. While the film received mixed reviews, it managed to earn a moderate $60 million at the global box office.

7. Kazuo Ishiguro / Screenplay: The Saddest Music in the World (2003), The White Countess (2005)

Though two of his novels, The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, were adapted for film, Kazuo Ishiguro did not write the screenplays. However, he penned the original story for Guy Maddin’s 2003 film The Saddest Music in the World and for James Ivory’s 2005 film The White Countess. Despite moderate success in screenwriting, Ishiguro remains primarily recognized for his distinguished career as a novelist.

8. Joan Didion / Screenplay: Up Close & Personal (1996), A Star Is Born (1976)

Novelist and literary journalist Joan Didion began her screenwriting career when she moved to Hollywood with her husband, screenwriter John Gregory Dunne, in the early 1970s. Together, Didion and Dunne worked extensively on the rock musical version of A Star Is Born in the '70s, starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. They also adapted journalist Jessica Savitch’s memoir, Up Close & Personal, in 1996. In a 2004 interview with The Paris Review, Didion remarked, "It's not writing. You're making notes for the director—for the director more than the actors."

9. Truman Capote / Screenplay: Beat The Devil (1953)

In 1953, writer Truman Capote collaborated with director John Huston to create a loose film adaptation of Claud Cockburn’s novel Beat the Devil. Huston intended the film to parody his earlier work, The Maltese Falcon, which he directed in 1941. However, Beat the Devil received a largely negative critical reception upon release. Despite this, Roger Ebert later praised the film, adding it to his “Great Movies” list, and recognized it in 2000 as the first true “camp” film.

10. Michael Chabon / Screenplay: Spider-Man 2 (2004), John Carter (2012)

Michael Chabon ventured into Hollywood screenwriting after film producer Scott Rudin acquired the film rights to his Pulitzer Prize and Hugo Award-winning novels, including Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and The Yiddish Policemen's Union. While Chabon only served as a consultant on the film adaptations of his novels, he worked on an early draft of Spider-Man 2 (2004) for director Sam Raimi and Disney's John Carter (2009). He once described his attitude toward Hollywood filmmaking as "pre-emptive cynicism.”

11. Raymond Chandler / Screenplay: Double Indemnity (1944)

Raymond Chandler, known for his crime novels and pulp fiction, made the leap from novelist to screenwriter after his work inspired critically acclaimed and commercially successful film adaptations that helped define the film noir genre. While his contributions to films like The Blue Dahlia and Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train are noteworthy, his collaboration with Billy Wilder on the iconic Double Indemnity earned them an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing in 1944.

12. Ray Bradbury / Screenplay: Moby Dick (1956)

In 1953, sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury teamed up with director John Huston to adapt Herman Melville’s epic novel Moby Dick into a film. Tensions ran high during production, as Bradbury and Huston clashed over the approach to the project. Bradbury was so disturbed by his treatment on the set that he later fictionalized his experiences in two works: the novel Green Shadows, White Whale and the short story “Banshee”. Despite its troubled production, Moby Dick went over budget and failed to connect with audiences upon its release.