E. Lockhart on We Were Liars, BookTok, & the Long Road from Page to Screen | Women in Entertainment

What happens when a beloved book gets a second life and finally finds its way to the screen? In this episode of the Women in Entertainment Podcast, E. Lockhart opens up about the extraordinary journey behind We Were Liars, from years of stalled development and reclaimed rights to the BookTok wave that reignited the novel’s cultural momentum. She shares why Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie’s creative vision felt like the right home for the adaptation, and how preserving the emotional experience of the book mattered just as much as translating the plot. Lockhart also gives listeners a glimpse into what’s next, including Family of Liars, Genuine Fraud, and her upcoming novel, The Pools, a paranormal tragedy set in a hot spring town. Along the way, she reflects on the themes that continue to shape her work: family, institutions, identity, first love, and the complicated process of deciding what to keep, question, or set fire to as we grow up. Listen to learn: - How We Were Liars found its way to television after multiple false starts - Why BookTok helped bring the novel back to bestseller lists years after publication - What E. Lockhart learned about visual storytelling on the We Were Liars set - How writing screenplays changed the way she thinks about adaptation - Why creative growth often begins with humility, research, and the word “yet” The Women in Entertainment Podcast presents thoughtful conversations with leaders across entertainment from film and television, to media and gaming, and everything in between; as we talk about what it takes to make your mark in the industry, lessons these incredible people have learned along the way, and how they have found their way in an ever-changing environment. With in-depth conversations and pre-submitted listener questions, each episode provides candid advice for navigating today’s entertainment industry, giving listeners an inside look at how key players got their start, and guidance for building the necessary toolkit to bring careers to life in film, TV, music, theater, graphics, writing, animation, and beyond. Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5AfPfPQ... Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast.. Listen on Audible: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a85.. #ELockhart #WeWereLiars #WomenInEntertainmentPodcast #BookTok #BookToScreen #YAFiction #FamilyOfLiars #GenuineFraud #ThePools #WomenWriters #Adaptation #Storytelling