By Georgie Cutler and Eva Lee
Acquisition News
Viper signs more from the author of The Appeal
Publishing Director at Viper’s Serpent’s Tail imprint, Miranda Jewess, has acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights to four more Janice Hallett novels from Sheil Land Associates’ Gaia Banks. This comes after the success of her first two novels with the imprint. Hallett’s debut novel, The Appeal, was awarded the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger and has sold over 250,000 copies. The rights for the novel have been optioned by ABC studios. The following novel, The Twyford Code, has had 150,000 sales in seventeen territories. Janice Hallett will publish her third novel with Viper in January 2023, called The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.
Simon & Schuster picks up new Dragon Force series
Simon and Schuster Children’s have picked up a new middle-grade series from authors Katie and Kevin Tsang. Three books of the Dragon Force series were acquired by Rachel Denwood, Managing Director, and Amina Youssef, Senior Commissioning Editor from S&S. A “large scale” marketing campaign is planned for the series with the first book to release in September 2023. The series is set in a world where humans and dragons co-exist but are threatened by other magical creatures, where dragon realm hero Bill Chan recruits and trains the Dragon Force team to protect the world (The Bookseller.) The original series Dragon Realm had gathered great success when released back in 2019, leading them to work with S&S for the next adventure.
From Book to Screen – What to watch?
Interview With The Vampire on AMC in the US
Nearly two decades after the cult classic movie adaptation, Interview With The Vampire returns to our screens with a television adaptation. Both adaptations are based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Anne Rice, originally published in 1976. It is the first book in The Vampire Chronicles, a thirteen-book series that AMC has acquired the rights to. Interview With The Vampire follows Louis de Pointe du Lac, a 200-year-old vampire. As he is interviewed, he reveals the complex relationship he has with the man who turned him into a vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt, and their vampire “daughter,” Claudia. This adaptation will feature the talents of Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Bailey Bass and Eric Bogosian, as the main cast. Anne Rice passed away in 2021, but her son, Christopher Rice, is involved in the project as an Executive Producer. You can watch Interview With The Vampire on 2 October 2022 on AMC in the US. We are yet to hear when it will stream globally.
Enola Holmes Season 2 Announced
With the great success of season one, Enola Holmes has announced a sequel starring the same cast. Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill and Louis Partridge will reprise their leading roles along with director Harry Bradbeer and writer Jack Thorne to return. Based on the Enola Holmes Mysteries novel by Nancy Springer the adaptation will take some inspiration from the novel showing off Enola’s detective journey. The new season will pick up where the first left off and will see more of Enola and her adventures in the bustling city of London with the aid of her brother Sherlock. It will air on Netflix on 4 November 2022.
In the works
Disney+ reveals first look of Percy Jackson and the Olympians adaptation
At the recent D23 Expo, Disney+ have given fans a teaser trailer for the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Three of the actors involved in the series, Walter Scobell, Aryan Simhadri and Leah Sava Jeffries, gave fans the first look at the latest adaptation of the novels. The Percy Jackson series has been adapted for the screen before. Logan Lerman starred as the titular character in two film adaptations based on the first two novels of the series. However, a third film was not produced. This Disney+ adaptation brings the author, Rick Riordan, in as a Writer and Executive Producer to bring the world of Percy Jackson to life. The first series will feature the events of the first novel in the series, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It tells the story of Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old grappling with the reveal of his father’s identity and the powers that come with it. When Zeus accuses Percy of stealing his lightning bolt, he must traverse America to prevent a war between the Olympian gods. The series is set to stream on Disney+ in 2024.
Text For You to get an English Remake
The romantic fiction book by Sofie Cramer will be an English remake of the German film SMS Fur Dich based on the original novel. The film will be titled It's All Coming Back to Me which will star Sam Heughan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Celine Dion as the leading roles alongside other cast members. The synopsis follows a woman who loses her fiancé due to a tragic accident and starts texting his old number. However, she finds out the number has been reassigned and forms a connection with another guy. The film is set to release in February 2023.