Your book, as a hand-drawn film, in your own words.
Upload a memoir or family story and choose a style. The film keeps your sentences, and you approve it one part at a time.
- The narration is your own sentences, word for word. Nothing is reworded.
- You approve each part before the next is made, and you can stop after any part.
- One payment, set by your book’s length, from $799. Uploading is free.
Not a memoir? Novels, true stories and books of ideas are made in the same studio at BookToScreen.pro.
Light-hearted
A crude, hand-drawn 1990s adult-cartoon look. The marker lines gently wobble, the backgrounds are grey pencil, the people are in colour, and big round eyes glance at whoever is talking.
Suits: funny and warm memoirs.
Serious
A simplified graphic-memoir look in black ink and grey, with only the people in flat colour and small dot eyes that blink. The camera pushes in slowly, pictures dissolve into one another, and the music is quieter.
Suits: grief, illness, hardship and other serious stories.
Both demos come from the founder’s own memoir, “A Mostly Magnificent Memoir” by Bo Bennett. They are made with AI and directed by the author, exactly as your film would be. You choose the style when you start, and you can change it until the cast drawing begins.
Watch a whole part (5 min 47 s, exactly as you would receive a part) · See the whole memoir as a web series
For the first time, an author can afford to see a whole book on screen
Until recently, animating a book took a studio, a team of artists, voice actors and a budget few authors could ever raise. Now AI draws the pictures, voices the characters and writes the music, and you direct it. A whole book can become a film for one payment, from $799.
See it come to life
The people you wrote about, drawn and speaking. Your own sentences as the narration. The places, the years and the moments you remember, on screen.
Reach people who watch
Many people who will never pick up a book will watch an episode on YouTube or a clip on their phone. A film gives your story a way to reach them, and a way back to your book.
Something to share
A premiere night for the family, a gift for the people in the story, and a record your grandchildren can watch.
Something to show
A finished film shows a producer or a festival what your story looks like on screen, instead of asking them to imagine it.
See a free minute of yours first
Upload your book, which is free, and ask for a free one-minute sample. We choose a scene from your first chapter and make it the same way every part of a film is made: in your words, drawn, voiced and scored.
Upload my bookA whole memoir, released as a web series
“A Mostly Magnificent Memoir” is the founder’s own life story, made with MemoirMovies from start to finish and released on YouTube one episode at a time.
A Mostly Magnificent Memoir
by Bo Bennett. Growing up in 1970s and ’80s Connecticut with a mother in hair curlers, a father with a plan for everything, and a kid who just wanted somebody to believe him.
- Made from a 21,000-word book, in the author’s own words
- 23 episodes of 3 to 11 minutes, about 2½ hours in all
- One part per episode, each made, edited and approved by the author
- Light-hearted style, with music, sound effects and visual effects
When your film is finished, MemoirMovies suggests the release that suits its length (one film, a two-part film, a limited series or a web series) and makes the files with their own title cards.
One film, released the way you choose
When your film is finished, we suggest the release that suits its length and what you want from it, and make the files with their own title cards. Every format is included in the price.
Feature film
One film of one to two and a half hours, the way a film is shown in a cinema.
Two-part film
Part One and Part Two, each an hour or more, split at a turn in the story. Good for a family premiere.
Limited series
Three to eight episodes of 22 to 55 minutes, each ending on a strong chapter, like a streaming series.
Web series
One episode per part, for YouTube and social media, like the example above.
Short film
One video under 40 minutes, for a short book. For a long one, you can make a shorter cut yourself by choosing scenes to leave out.
Clips for Shorts, TikTok and Reels
Short vertical clips of the film’s best moments, with captions and a title, to lead viewers to the film and the book.
Your words, and your approval at every step
In your own words
The screenplay is written from your whole book, chapter by chapter. The narration is your sentences, word for word. Every sentence is kept, and none is reworded. Quoted dialogue is used exactly as you wrote it.
Only the action lines, the description of what we see, are new. You read the screenplay, ask for changes and approve it. If you bring your own screenplay, it is laid out and never reworded.
One part at a time, and you approve each
The film is made in parts, usually one per chapter, from a few minutes to about 15 minutes each. You watch a part and approve it before the next one is made.
A part usually takes about an hour to build. You can stop after any part and keep everything made so far.
From upload to finished film
Upload, free
A book in Word, PDF, EPUB or plain text, or a screenplay in Final Draft, Fountain, PDF, Word or text. Nothing is charged to upload.
Pay once to start
One payment, set by your book’s length and shown before you pay. It covers the screenplay, every part’s cast and voices, every part and the finished film.
Screenplay
Written from your whole book in your own words. You read it, ask for changes and approve it.
Starting looks and voices
Automatic. Once the screenplay is approved, every recurring person, place and object is drawn and each character is given a voice. Nothing to approve yet.
Each part’s cast
Everyone in the part at their age in it, dressed for it, with their voices and the places. Anything unchanged is marked “Same as Part 2”. Change any drawing in plain words or pick another voice, then approve.
Each part made
The part is built, usually in about an hour. You watch it, edit it if you like, and approve it. That unlocks the next part.
The part editor
On a timeline, change pictures, spoken lines and music in plain words, then rebuild the part.
The whole film
Approved parts join into one film with title cards, to download as an HD (1080p) MP4 and share.
One payment for the whole film
Paid once, set by the length of your book, with no subscription. Uploading is free, and you are charged only when you start the film.
One film, from your book or your own screenplay, priced by its length.
Start with my book Bring my screenplayWhat every size includes
- The screenplay, the starting looks and voices, and each part’s cast
- Every part of the film, with one remake of each part and the part editor, within set allowances
- The finished film, joined from your approved parts
- Closing credits with your own photos, words of thanks and a song sung to your words
Length
Every word of your book is kept, so the price follows its length: from $799 for a film of about 90 minutes to $4,499 for a book of 110,000 words (about 13½ hours, ideal as a series). See every size.
Made with AI, directed by you
The drawings, voices and music are made with AI. You direct them. You read and approve the screenplay, approve each part’s cast and choose its voices, and approve every part.
A photo helps guide a likeness, but a cartoon of a person will not be an exact match.
You stay in charge
- Approve the screenplay before anything is drawn
- Change any drawing in a part’s cast in plain words
- Change a style until the cast drawing begins
- Stop after any part and keep everything
Start with a book, or with a screenplay
I have a book
Upload a memoir, family history or autobiography as Word, PDF, EPUB or plain text, from 1,500 to 110,000 words. We write the screenplay from the whole book, in your own words.
Start with my bookI already have a screenplay
Bring it as Final Draft, Fountain, PDF, Word or text. It is laid out and never reworded, and priced by its running time.
Bring my screenplayQuestions people ask first
What does MemoirMovies make?
MemoirMovies turns a book, usually a memoir or family story, into a hand-drawn animated film with voices, music and moving mouths. You can also bring your own screenplay, which is used exactly as written. The film is made with AI and directed by you, and you approve each step.
Will the film use my own words?
Yes. The screenplay is written from your whole book, chapter by chapter, in your own words. The narration is your sentences, word for word. Every sentence is kept, and none is reworded. Quoted dialogue is used exactly. Only the action lines, which describe what we see, are new. You read the screenplay, ask for changes and approve it.
How does it work?
Upload your book or screenplay, which is free. Pay once to start. Once you approve the screenplay, starting looks and voices are made for you automatically. Then each part is made in three steps: you check that part’s cast and voices, the part is built, and you edit and approve it before the next part begins. Approved parts join into one film you can download and share.
How much does it cost?
One payment, set by the length of your book, with no subscription: from $799 for a film of about 90 minutes (a book of up to 12,000 words, or a screenplay edited to about 90 minutes) to $4,499 for a book of 110,000 words. It covers the screenplay, the starting looks and voices, every part’s cast, every part and the finished film. Part-editor edits are included, within set allowances. Uploading is free, you see your price before you pay, and it is charged only when you start the film. Every size is listed on the pricing page.
What if my book is long?
Every word of your book is kept, however long it is, so a long book makes a long film, priced by its size. A long film can be released as a limited series or web-series episodes, and we suggest the format that suits its length. You can also make a shorter theatrical cut yourself by choosing scenes to leave out. For a book over 110,000 words, write to us for a quote.
Do I have to approve the whole film at once?
No. The film is made in parts, usually one per chapter, from a few minutes to about 15 minutes each. A part usually takes about an hour to build. You check its cast first, then watch it and approve it before the next part is made, and you can stop after any part and keep everything made so far.
Can I change a part after it is made?
Yes. The part editor shows the part on a timeline. You can move, delete, copy and paste pictures, set a close-up, ask for a change to any picture in plain words, change the words of any spoken line or how it is read, move the music, and rebuild the part.
Will the characters look exactly like the real people?
Not exactly. This is a cartoon, and the drawings are made with AI. You can add a photo of a real person to guide the likeness, change any drawing in plain words and redraw (up to 40 redraws of the starting looks are included). Before each part is made, you see everyone in it at their age in that part and approve the cast. A change you make applies to that part and the parts after it, never to an earlier one, so each person stays the same from part to part.
Questions before you start? Email hello@memoirmovies.com.
Your book, as a hand-drawn film.
One price. In your own words. Made and approved one part at a time.
