EXCLUSIVE: Former Disney TV studio executive and CAA agent Elizabeth Newman has joined Literate as its first new partner since the television-focused boutique management and production company was launched in early 2018 by founding partners A.B. Fischer and Dennis Kim.
With her background in television, publishing and book adaptations, Newman will manage a curated roster of film & TV writer/showrunners and will expand Literate’s business in representing screen rights for intellectual property creators, rightsholders, and estates. She also will work with authors, journalists, and playwrights transitioning to Hollywood.
This marks a return to representation for Newman who started her entertainment career at CAA. During her nearly 15-year tenure, she was a TV Literary & Media Rights agent, representing TV writer/creators, showrunners, producers, directors, and intellectual property, brokering major rights deals on behalf of bestselling authors such as Anne Rice and James Patterson.
At the end of 2019, Newman segued to the TV executive ranks, joining then-Fox21 TV Studios as VP, Development. There, she identified talent and literary material and developed scripted series, including Hulu’s Dopesick, ABC’s Alaska Daily, and NatGeo’s upcoming Genius: MLK/X.
A year later, Newman was named co-head and subsequently head of the newly launched Creative Acquisitions Department at Disney Television Studios. She played a key role in identifying and acquiring over 200 properties for development and production and sourced material for the studios’ talent and overall deals. She left Disney in March of this year amid restructuring and company-wide layoffs.
“We are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth to the Literate team as our first new partner since the company’s founding,” Fischer and Kim said in a joint statement. “We share the same values and have been friends and fans of hers for years. Her impeccable taste, breadth of relationships, and expertise in identifying and securing IP rights makes her an incredibly valuable resource for our clients. Most importantly, we’re counting on Elizabeth to help us break our record for fastest time to exit an escape room at this year’s holiday party.”
In addition to Fischer and Kim, at Literate, Newman joins manager Jessica Shulman. The company’s client roster includes Suits creator Aaron Korsh, Silk/The Walking Dead‘s Angela Kang, Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen, One Piece co-showrunner Steven Maeda, La Brea creator David Appelbaum, Luke Cage creator Cheo Coker, NOS4A2 creator Jami O’Brien, incoming WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen and current Emmy nominees Ted Cohen (Succession), Dipika Guha (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and Stacy Traub and Jihan Crowther (Daisy Jones & The Six).
“I have known A.B. and Dennis for years and have always deeply admired their integrity, zealous advocacy for their esteemed clients, and respect for the power of the written word,” Newman said. “I am excited to bring my insights and experience as both a buyer and a seller to Literate and to serve as a strategic and creative partner for talented and ambitious storytellers.”
