Faber to publish Normal People screenplays

Faber is to release the complete screenplays of the television series "Normal People", based on Sally Rooney's novel of the same title. 

Publisher Alex Bowler acquired UK rights from Tracy Bohan at the Wylie Agency, who liaised for Element Pictures, the producer of the series. 

The collection will feature an exclusive introduction from director Lenny Abrahamson, and images from the show. 

The 12-part show aired on BBC3 and subsequently on BBC1 this spring, and broke all BBC3 records to become its most requested show ever on BBC iPlayer, with 16.2 million viewer requests in the first week alone, according to the publisher. It also pushed the novel to the overall number one charts spot for the first time.

In July, "Normal People" picked up four Emmy nominations. Sally Rooney and Alice Birch were nominated for Outstanding Writer for a Limited Series, Paul Mescal for Outstanding Lead Actor, Abrahamson for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series and Louise Kiely for Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series.

Rooney's previous novel, Conversations with Friends, is also being adapted for BBC3. She has sold 850,218 books for £6.9m through Nielsen BookScan's UK Total Consumer Market, excluding lockdown sales. 

Publication is scheduled for 12th November.