Louise O’Neill, recently described by The Guardian as “the best YA author alive today,” will see her debut novel Only Ever Yours adapted for the big and small screen after the rights were acquired by US production company Killer Content.
O’Neill (30) has just published her second novel, Asking For It, in the British and Irish market, and recently spoke to Newstalk’s Orla Barry on The Green Room about writing about rape culture in rural Ireland.
Her first novel revolves around a dystopian future where girls are raised in a finishing school to adhere to the strict beauty standards and whims of men, and has been described as The Handmaid’s Tale for the social-media generation. O’Neill took the ‘Best Newcomer Award’ at the Irish Book Awards for her debut at the 2014 ceremony.
Killer Content’s most recent feature is the Todd Hayne’s lesbian love story Carol – starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, and expected to be a frontrunner as we head into Oscar season – and the company hopes to finance the film and TV versions of the novel through its non-profit organisation Two Brass Brads.
Only Ever Yours, which deals with male perceptions of the female body, eating disorders, and the role of women in society fits under Two Brass Brads’ remit of creating “socially-relevant” content that will be released to consumers with activist campaigns and educational programmes.
O’Neill is currently in the US, where Only Ever Yours was published earlier in the summer. To hear her interview with Orla Barry, please click here.
