Dinan to adapt her ‘transporting’ novel Bellies for TV following ‘hotly contested auction’

Element Pictures has acquired the film and television rights to Nicola Dinan’s debut novel, Bellies, ahead of its publication by Doubleday in the US and UK next summer.

The film and television rights deal was brokered by Lesley Thorne of Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd on behalf of Dinan and her literary agent Monica MacSwan, and Mark Byrne for Element Pictures. The “Normal People” producers are working with the author on the adaptation of the novel as an 8 x 30 minute series.

Bellies, snapped up by Doubleday in a five-way auction, is described by the publisher as “a tender, funny and exhilarating coming-of-age” novel about two queer students, Tom and Ming, who fall in love at university and find their relationship dramatically upended when Ming comes out as trans and decides to transition.

Element Pictures’ Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann, who will executive produce alongside Dinan, said: “We were immediately absorbed and transported by the love story between Tom and Ming – and by Nicola’s writing, which is in equal parts hilarious and heart-breaking. 

“We think the world is hungry for a love story like theirs — that authentically allows for the space and complexity of their changing dynamic, both as Ming transitions but also as the two of them grow into adulthood — while still honouring the excitement and intensity of first love. We are delighted to bring their story to the screen and couldn’t be happier that Nicola is adapting herself."

Dinan added: “People have told me that Bellies has given them a new perspective. I think that’s really special and reminds me that fiction can enlighten in ways that hard facts often can’t. At its heart, Bellies isn’t about identity. 

“Rather, it’s about two young people struggling to find their place in the world, all while learning how to care for each other and those around them. I’m so happy to be working with Element, and to have the opportunity to continue to explore these characters and share them with the world onscreen.”