Juno Dawson's memoir optioned for TV

TV rights to Juno Dawson’s memoir The Gender Games (Two Roads) have been optioned by Benedict Cumberbatch's production outfit SunnyMarch. 

The company, co-run by Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland, also produced "Patrick Melrose", a five-part series based on the novels by Edward St Aubyn currently airing on Sky.

Picking up Juno’s journey post-transition, it has promised a new half-hour series that will be "a playful manifesto on womanhood and a celebration of female friendship".

British screenwriter and playwright Rose Lewenstein will write the project, aiming to tell a story that is "challenging, entertaining, unique and universal". She was recently commissioned by Channel 4 as part of its 4Stories scheme championing emerging voices in drama, and her plays have been shown at major London theatres including the Arcola, Theatre503, and the Southwark Playhouse.

Claire Marshall, executive producer at SunnyMarch, said: "We’re so thrilled Juno has trusted us and Rose with the hugely thrilling task of turning her own experiences into an original series about womanhood, friendship and dating in the 21st century."

Dawson said: "I was surprised and delighted when Sunnymarch wanted to adapt my life story, but we immediately shared a vision for a fast, funny, fashionable show about young women who just happen to be transgender. Working with Rose allows me to tell my story in a way that no other drama has authentically explored the trans experience of life and love."

Born James Dawson, Juno Dawson was raised in West Yorkshire and worked as a school teacher in a variety of schools where she began writing books aimed at young adults until she became successful enough to leave her teaching job and continue her writing. In 2015 Dawson came out as transgender after beginning her journey of transitioning 18 months earlier.

The Gender Games published in paperback 8th February 2018 and was the 2017 winner of the UK Black Pride Literary Prize For Non-Fiction at the Diva Awards.