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New Ann Cleeves novel snapped up for TV series
Ann Cleeves' latest book The Long Call (Pan Macmillan) has been snapped up for a television series by Silverprint Pictures.
Silverprint has optioned the screen rights to the first novel in the new Two Rivers crime fiction series by Cleeves. The deal was arranged by Rebecca Watson at Valerie Hoskins Associates on behalf of literary agent Sara Menguc.
The new series marks the third collaboration between Cleeves and Silverprint, a partnership that has produced "Shetland" (BBC) and "Vera" (ITV), two of television’s most popular dramas.
Cleeves said: “I’m delighted that the team at Silverprint has optioned The Long Call. The adaptations of Vera and Shetland have captured the essence of my books, while making TV dramas that are hugely successful in their own right.”
Set in North Devon, where Cleeves spent her teenage years, The Long Call "introduces us to the reserved and complex Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, and to a wonderfully rich ensemble of characters, in a compelling, skillfully plotted mystery, which vividly evokes the stark beauty of the North Devon coastline, and a community where murder and intrigue bubble just beneath the surface," reads the synopsis.
Silverprint executive producer Kate Bartlett said: “After almost a decade working together, we are thrilled to be continuing our creative partnership with Ann. The Long Call is a rich and deeply engrossing mystery with a whole host of new Cleeves’ characters led by the inimitable Matthew Venn. Just as the novel feels like a progression of Ann's writing, this feels like the opportunity to create a wholly unique and ambitious event crime drama with another iconic detective at its heart. We can't wait to get started.”
The Long Call will be published in hardback by Pan Macmillan on 5th September.
Vicki Mellor, publishing director fiction at Pan Macmillan added: “We are thrilled that Ann’s superlative new novel The Long Call has been optioned for television. Ann’s unique ability to evoke landscape and create compelling new characters is never more evident than with this novel, as we see a new setting in North Devon and a new lead in the wonderful Matthew Venn. The happy news that Ann’s hugely successful partnership with Silverprint is continuing couldn’t be more welcome, or come at a better time. We can’t wait to see how the series evolves onto the screen.’
