# Sony Pictures Acquires Film Rights to Liv Zander's Bestselling Heartstring Duet Series > Sony Pictures has acquired film rights to Liv Zander's Heartstring Duet, a dark fantasy romance series with more than 100 million Kindle page reads. - Published: 2026-11-06T21:53:36+00:00 - Section: Mergers & Acquisitions - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-06/sony-pictures-heartstring-duet-film-rights - Source: [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/heartstring-duet-book-series-liv-213253574.html) ## Key takeaways - Sony Pictures acquired feature film rights to Liv Zander's two-book dark fantasy romance series The Heartstring Duet. - The books, Crown Me Dead and Crown Me Yours, have drawn more than 100 million Kindle page reads worldwide in three and a half months. - Requited, a Hachette imprint, holds U.S. rights and HQ, a HarperCollins imprint, holds UK rights, with print editions re-released this week. Sony Pictures has acquired the film rights to The Heartstring Duet, the bestselling dark fantasy romance series by Liv Zander, [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/heartstring-duet-book-series-liv-213253574.html) reported on November 6, 2026. The deal price was not disclosed. The series comprises two books, Crown Me Dead and Crown Me Yours. ## Inside Sony's Heartstring Duet Rights Deal [Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003s7m/sony-pictures-entertainment) is a wholly-owned Sony Group subsidiary that produces and distributes films and television, operates the Crunchyroll anime platform and Alamo Drafthouse theater chain, and licenses IP including Spider-Man, Jumanji, Resident Evil, Peanuts, and PlayStation game adaptations. Liv Zander is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller also known for the self-published Court of Ravens and Pale Court series, both dark fantasy romances. The two books blend dark fantasy, horror and romance and went viral after being self-published a week apart in April. Crown Me Dead climbed to No. 5 among all eBooks on Amazon, and together the books have amassed more than 100 million Kindle page reads worldwide in three and a half months. Requited, an imprint of Hachette, locked down U.S. rights after the self-release, alongside HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, for the UK. The books have been translated into 14 languages, and print editions were re-released in both countries this week. The series follows Elara, the daughter of gravediggers, in a kingdom cursed by a deadly plague. When her brother falls ill, a palace steward offers her a bargain: seduce the reclusive king and make him fall in love with her, breaking the curse by dying at his hand. Zander is represented by Untitled, Maggie Marr Legal and Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management. ## Sony's Recent Literary Acquisitions Sony Pictures has set up several other literary properties for adaptation. These include Lindsey Anderson Beer's Hollow, to star Sydney Sweeney; Michael Crichton and James Patterson's Eruption; Freida McFadden's The Surrogate Mother; Lynn Painter's Fake Skating, to star Amelie Hoeferle and Graham Campbell; Katy Hays' Home Economics, to star Julia Roberts; and Don Winslow's City on Fire, to star Austin Butler. ## Sony Pictures' Deal History According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Sony Pictures invested $100 million as lead investor in Cosm's Series C funding round in June 2026, acquiring a minority stake and a board seat for CEO Ravi Ahuja. The same records show a June 2026 partnership with Pop Mart to develop a Labubu film targeted for summer 2028. Sony Pictures was founded in 1991, is headquartered in Culver City, and is led by Chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja. ## Earlier Sony Rights Deals On October 19, 2026, Sony Pictures acquired live-action film rights to the comic book series D'Orc, with author and illustrator Brett Bean attached to adapt, [Deadline](https://akta.pro/news-signals) reported. The same day, Yahoo reported that Sony Pictures pre-emptively bought Drew Pearce's thriller Penthouse, with Tom Holland set to star and Pearce writing the script. On November 5, 2026, Yahoo reported that Sony Pictures Classics acquired Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Violette in the U.S., Latin America and Southeast Asia, its fourth collaboration with the filmmaker. ## Companies in this story - [Sony Pictures Entertainment company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003s7m/sony-pictures-entertainment) · website: http://sonypictures.com --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt