Children of Blood and Bone, a novel by Nigerian-American author, Tomi Adeyemi, has just been picked up by one of Hollywood’s major film studio, Fox Studios in a mega deal.
According to Shadow and Act, the company has acquired the 23-year-old writer’s debut novel which has been described as ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender, meets Black Lives Matter’, with plans to adapt it into a full-length feature.
Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone, which is yet to be published, must have serious potential and also impressed both Fox and Macmillan Publishing immensely, as the deal with Fox is said to be in seven figures.
Also reportedly whopping, is the author’s publishing deal with Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – one of the biggest young adult debut novel publishing deals ever.
Children of Blood and Bone is the first instalment in what will be a trilogy. Details on the book are scarce, but according to the writer’s website, the synopsis goes thus:
‘With magic, Zélie’s family could stand against the royal guard. Her people wouldn’t live in fear. Her mom wouldn’t have hanged from that tree.
‘Years after the king wiped magic out of Orïsha, Zélie has one chance to bring it back. To do so, she’ll have to outwit/outrun the crown prince, who’s hell-bent on erasing magic for good.’
At just 23, Adeyemi is a literary whiz. She’s a creative writing coach based in San Diego, California and a graduate of Harvard University.
She’s also the recipient of a fellowship to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil.
Adeyemi offers expertise and free writing tips to aspiring authors via her website.
‘I want a little Black girl to pick up my book one day and see herself as the star. I want her to know that she’s beautiful and she matters and she can have a crazy, magical adventure even if an ignorant part of the world tells her she can never be Hermione Granger,’ Adeyemi wrote on her site.
