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Last night at the Deadline-hosted celebration of the Black List 20th anniversary, founder Franklin Leonard told attendees that there was more to come.

Now that more to come is here.

Just one day after the Travis Braun-topped 20th anniversary list came out, the Black List Wednesday revealed the inaugural Adaptation List. The selection highlights 61 novels published since the first list came out in 2005 that are primed to be made into big screen and small screen projects.

“There was only one real way to celebrate twenty years of annual Black Lists, make another list that celebrates writers and in so doing makes it more likely that great film and television gets made,” Black List chief Leonard said Wednesday of the list that includes books by Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Eugenides, and N. K. Jemisin (see the full list below). “Once it was clear that we were going to expand into fiction in September,...

While The Black List has long been the go-to platform to discover indie scripts and hot new voices, the acclaimed organization is now launching an inaugural Adaptation List to spotlight the novels that industry insiders most want to see adapted for the screen.

These days, novel adaptations have been heating up Hollywood, thanks in no small part to the rise of BookTok. Beloved BookTok authors like Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover have already been slated to have their respective books brought to film and TV, while Taylor Jenkins Reid has been building a franchise of interconnected stories, including “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” “Malibu Rising,” and “Daisy Jones and the Six.”

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard and Creative Director of Fiction Randy Winston surveyed 84 publishing industry editors and literary agents, who selected the 61 novels that they believe are poised for adaptations. All novels had to be published after 2005, when The Black List launched.

While The Color Purple is still racking up sales at the box office, Oprah Winfrey has already set her sights on her next film project.

The mogul tells The Hollywood Reporter that she’s optioned the rights to The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, one of her book club selections. But given the plot — which revolves around an Indian family who loses at least one person each generation due to a drowning — she realizes she’s going “to have a hell of a time getting that done because it’s also a story about people of color.”

In THR’s recent cover story on The Color Purple, Winfrey noted that the film’s performance at the box office would likely affect the future of other projects about Black or brown people. She says that despite the racial reckoning after George Floyd that saw Hollywood commit to investing in such narratives,...

It’s that time of year again, when Barack Obama annually shares his favorite movies, books and music.

“As I usually do during this time of year, I wanted to share my favorite books, movies, and music of 2023,” the former president wrote on social media, asking his followers to comment with their favorites, as well.

In his typical fashion, Obama shared separate posts for each medium, starting with listing his picks for the year’s best books, including The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (James McBride), The Maniac (Benjamin Labatut), Poverty, by America (Matthew Desmond), How to Say Babylon (Safiya Sinclair), The Wager (David Grann), Chip War (Chris Miller) and The Vaster Wilds (Lauren Groff).

His other top picks were Humanly Possible (Sarah Bakewell), King: A Life (Jonathan Eig), The Covenant of Water (Abraham Verghese), The Best Minds (Jonathan Rosen), All the Sinners Bleed (S.A. Cosby), The Kingdom, the Power,...

Former president Barack Obama released his annual list of favorite films of the year. In the top slots are “Rustin,” “Leave the World Behind” and “American Symphony,” which were all produced by his and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Media.

“I’m biased since these movies were produced by Higher Ground, but these are in fact three of the best films I saw this year,” Obama wrote.

Lower on the list are “The Holdovers,” “Blackberry,” “Oppenheimer,” “American Fiction,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Monster,” “Past Lives,” “Air,” “Polite Society” and “A Thousand and One.”

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Cinephiles have come to expect (and love) Obama’s regular lists of films, music and books, which are generally released come awards time. Last year his list included the likes of “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Emily the Criminal” and director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King.

‘The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store’ (Publisher: Riverhead Books)

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride tops Amazon Book Editors’ list of the Best Books of 2023. Responding to the honor, McBride said, “Every moment in history is full of sadness and tests. But love is the killer of mankind’s worst diseases. It lives without boundaries. It goes everywhere. You can find it everywhere. Even in a grocery store. I’m so glad you found it in this one.”

Amazon’s book editors selected The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead as the top children’s book and Rebecca Ross’ Divine Rivals as the best young adult book of the year. For readers into romance, Amazon suggests Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score, and for those looking for help in the kitchen, the top cookbook, food, and wine pick is Erin French’s Big Heart Little Stove.

“Between dragon-filled...

New York Times best-seller Cutting for Stone is set for adaptation via Bron Studios and Anonymous Content, with the filmmaking team Richie Mehta and Scott Teems also on board.

The book, from author Abraham Verghese, follows twin brothers Marion and Shiva Stone, who, according to the plot description, are “born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and Dr. Thomas Stone, a brash but brilliant British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age nurtured by their adoptive Indian doctor ...

New York Times best-seller Cutting for Stone is set for adaptation via Bron Studios and Anonymous Content, with the filmmaking team Richie Mehta and Scott Teems also on board.

The book, from author Abraham Verghese, follows twin brothers Marion and Shiva Stone, who, according to the plot description, are “born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and Dr. Thomas Stone, a brash but brilliant British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age nurtured by their adoptive Indian doctor ...

This post originally appeared on Entertainment Weekly.

Whether he’s reading to kids at the White House, hitting up local bookstores on Black Friday, or giving recommendations to his daughters, President Barack Obama may as well be known as the Commander in Books.

Potus is an avid reader and recently spoke to the New York Times about the significant, informative and inspirational role literature has played in his presidency, crediting books for allowing him to “slow down and get perspective.” With his presidency coming to an end this Friday, EW looked back at Obama’s lit picks over the years...

Turning a novel into a movie is challenge enough, but when that novel happens to be more than 600 pages long, you've got a real uphill climb — which is why Susanne Bier, who directed the 2011 Best Foreign Language Oscar winner, "In A Better World," has her work cut out for her as the recently appointed director of the film adaptation of "Cutting for Stone."

The best-selling tale, penned by Abraham Verghese, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and has the powers-that-be in Hollywood licking their chops. (Hey, those suits know a sure thing when they see it.)

The story follows twin brothers, the product of a forbidden relationship between an Indian nun and British surgeon, who are born in an Ethiopian mission hospital. Orphaned after the death of their mother, both boys follow in their father's footsteps and become doctors as well — continuing to work at the mission hospital...

Though All You Need Is Love, Danish director Susanne Bier's follow-up to her Oscar-winning drama In A Better World, is currently in the midst of post-production, reports on her next efforts are already surfacing. Last week we got word that Bier had signed on to direct Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Serena, and now Variety reports that California-based production company Anonymous Content has hired Bier to helm their adaptation of Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone. The best-selling novel, which has been published in 25 languages, takes place in 1950s Ethiopia and follows the globetrotting journey of an unconventional family tree. Sister Mary Joseph Praise is a pious young nun in 1940s India, who meets an arrogant but debonair British doctor, Thomas Stone, while traveling to her missionary post in Yemen. On a tumultuous sea journey she saves his life, and when destiny reunites them years later in a...

Susanne Bier ("In a Better World") has been set to direct the feature adaptation of Abraham Verghese's novel "Cutting for Stone" for Anonymous Content says Variety.

The story centers on twin brothers born of a forbidden union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon in an Ethiopian mission hospital.

Orphaned by their mother's death and their father's disappearance, and bound together by a preternatural connection as well as a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of the modern world.

Scott Teems ("That Evening Sun") penned the script while Rosalie Swedlin and Steve Golin will produce. Bier's recent romantic drama "All You Need Is Love" is currently being shopped around at Berlinale where deals have already been closed for over three dozen territories.

Danish director Susanne Bier – whose In A Better World won last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar – will direct an adaption of Abraham Verghese‘s best-seller Cutting For Stone for Anonymous Content. [Variety]

The film, scripted by That Evening Sun writer-director Scott Teems, will be “a riveting saga of twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone, born of a tragic union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.” Synopsis courtesy of the novel’s website. This Sunday marks the novel’s impressive 105th consecutive New York Times’ trade paperback bestseller list, indicating a high level of public interest in this story.

Bier...

Danish director Susanne Bier has never been shy about traveling the world for her films. Her Oscar-winning "In A Better World" split time between Denmark and an African refugee camp. Her upcoming comedy "All You Need Is Love" is set in Italy, while past efforts have seen her journey to the United States ("Things We Lost In The Fire") and (partially) to India ("After The Wedding"), and Bier has lined up another effort that will see her returning to Africa. The director has signed on to an adapation of the massive (over 600 pages), best-selling (1 million copies worldwide) tome "Cutting For Stone" by Abraham Verghese. The story is a sprawling one, centering on twin brothers, the product of a forbidden relationship between an Indian nun and British surgeon, who are born in an Ethiopian mission hospital. Orphaned after the death of their mother, both boys become doctors as well, and continue...

Adaptation of Abraham Verghese's best-selling novel Cutting for Stone lands Susanne Bier. Scott Teems will adapt the Abraham Verghese best-selling novel for the bigscreen, which is being produced by Rosalie Swedlin and Steve Golin, reports Variety. The story follows twin brothers who are born from a forbidden relationship between an Indian nun and a British surgeon working in an Ethiopian hospital. They're left as orphans after their mother dies and their father disappears, and bound together by a preternatural connection, as well as sharing the same love for medicine. Marking the debut novel of Verghese, the book has sold 1 million copies in print, offered in 25 languages...

Adaptation of Abraham Verghese's best-selling novel Cutting for Stone lands Susanne Bier. Scott Teems will adapt the Abraham Verghese best-selling novel for the bigscreen, which is being produced by Rosalie Swedlin and Steve Golin, reports Variety. The story follows twin brothers who are born from a forbidden relationship between an Indian nun and a British surgeon working in an Ethiopian hospital. They're left as orphans after their mother dies and their father disappears, and bound together by a preternatural connection, as well as sharing the same love for medicine. Marking the debut novel of Verghese, the book has sold 1 million copies in print, offered in 25 languages...

Adaptation of Abraham Verghese's best-selling novel Cutting for Stone lands Susanne Bier. Scott Teems will adapt the Abraham Verghese best-selling novel for the bigscreen, which is being produced by Rosalie Swedlin and Steve Golin, reports Variety. The story follows twin brothers who are born from a forbidden relationship between an Indian nun and a British surgeon working in an Ethiopian hospital. They're left as orphans after their mother dies and their father disappears, and bound together by a preternatural connection, as well as sharing the same love for medicine. Marking the debut novel of Verghese, the book has sold 1 million copies in print, offered in 25 languages...

A smart new book by Tina Rosenberg says social cures can solve the world's problems. In this week's Newsweek, Abraham Verghese calls the book, which touts the values of peer pressure, "brilliant," and "fully realized."

We are such creatures of habit that often nothing will sway us from a bad or even a self-destructive one. Or, as Tina Rosenberg says in her new book, Join the Club, "No amount of information can budge us when we refuse to be budged. The catalog of justifications for destructive behaviors is a tribute to human ingenuity." Stodgy public-health campaigns with proscriptive logos ( "Say no to drugs," for example) don't work. Instead, what worked in South Africa was a campaign modeled on the relaunch of the soft drink Sprite. Sprite brought its brand into the communities: it made sure its name was associated with basketball, fun activities, and concerts. By recruiting cool kids to...

The book-to-movie business is kicking back into gear. Hoping for another Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, New Regency has just acquired Three Seconds, part of a bestselling Swedish crime novel series by Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom. Shine will produce and they will set a writer quickly. In Three Seconds, an ex-con who works undercover for the Stockholm police is charged with breaking the Polish mob's stranglehold on amphetamine dealing in Sweden prisons. The ex-con gets himself arrested so he can infiltrate the mob in a maximum security prison. Beyond the fact his wife is unaware he's working undercover, the operative's challenge is to crack the ring and get out before he's exposed. The book is the fifth novel in the series, was named Sweden's top crime novel of 2009. The author team is intriguing, considering one's a former journalist, the other an ex-criminal.The book was published by Silver Oak. Regency's...