So thrilled to finally be able to share this news! A couple of months ago, I received an email from someone by the name of Ramaa Mosley asking about the TV and movie adaptation rights for EM & EM. This was in the middle of my work day, and I sort of assumed it was spam, but I forwarded the email to my agent. Later that afternoon, when I had a break, I decided to Google Ramaa.
OK. So. This was no spammer. I learned that Ramaa is in fact a remarkable woman whose resume includes directing the segment on Amina, an Afghan girl, for the Girl Rising documentary, as well as the 2012 critically acclaimed film The Brass Teapot. She also has helped lead the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign in the United States to bring attention to the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria.
In addition, Ramaa serves as creative director at @dolescent, a production company dedicated to developing young talent. All of the company’s directors and videographers are ages 14-27. This is where EM & EM comes in. Ramaa told me she had bought the book for her daughter and had read it herself and, if I may quote her email, that she “immediately saw the tv/film potential.” She wanted to work through @dolescent to turn it into a TV series!
After much flailing fangirling careful consideration, I am beyond excited and truly honored to share that @dolescent has optioned EM & EM.
Now, there are a lot of steps between an option and an actual project, and nothing is guaranteed, but it is sure fun to dream about, and I am beyond thrilled that this is the company that will be trying to make the dream a reality.
Here is the official announcement as posted on the @dolescent Facebook page:
We are Excited to announce that Adolescent has optioned Linda Budzinski’s young adult novel, Em & Em for development as a series.
Em & Em follows sixteen-year-old Emily, who must go into the Witness Protection program and reluctantly start a new life in the Midwest. The newly-named Ember O’Malley finds herself making new friends, taking photos for the high school newspaper, and thinking an awful lot about the paper’s editor, a cute cowboy named Charles. But as her day in court approaches and her secrets start to catch up with her, Em needs to figure out who she really is – Em or Em.
Author Linda Budzinski has written three young adult novels including Em & Em, and has won the Romance Writers of America Young Adult Rosemary Award and Virginia Chapter’s Fool for Love Award for her work. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband.
Adolescent is a think tank, production company, and digital platform dedicated to the creation of entertainment content created by youth for youth. Development of Em & Em will be overseen by Ramaa Mosley and Hope Farley.
