Fritz Peters, Early LGBTQ Literary Icon, Coming to Screens and Bookshelves in New Rights Deal
Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterFritz Peters, a post-WWII literary heavyweight and unsung LGBTQ icon, will see his work adapted into feature films and repopulated on bookshelves.Production label Hirsch Giovanni Entertainment has acquired movie and publishing rights to novels and memoirs by Peters, who lived as a commercial author beloved by glitterati like Gore Vidal.
His work included themes of mental illness, homosexuality and spiritual growth in the ’50s and ’60s. He died in 1972.“I was first introduced to the writings of Fritz Peters when I came across a memoir called ‘Boyhood With Gurdjieff,’ nearly 40 years ago,” said David M.
Hirsch of Hirsch Giovanni. “I was so taken with his writing and his story that I set out to seek his other works and over the years discovered a treasure trove of deeply personal stories about subjects that were way ahead of their time.
Because these books were no longer in print, we decided to also acquire the publishing rights in order to share these poignant stories with today’s world.” Peters’ most notable work was his second novel, “Finistére.” It is regarded as one of the first gay-centered novels to come out of the era not concerning WWII.
