TV deal for O’Neill’s Asking For It

Bandit Television has acquired the television rights to Louise O’Neill’s Asking for It, a novel about sexual assault.

Bandit’s m.d. Philippa Giles, who struck the deal with Rachel Conway of Georgina Capel Associates, said: “Bandit is enormously privileged to be working so closely with Louise O'Neill on this extraordinarily powerful and painful novel. With Asking For It, O'Neill has ignited the conversation about slut shaming, victim blaming, rape culture and the dark power and influence of social media, and Bandit Television is proud to be part of continuing that necessary debate.”

Bandit Television is Endemol Shine UK’s scripted production label and launched in March 2015. Giles, who joined Bandit from BBC Drama, has worked on TV shows such as Luther and Silent Witness. Bandit’s head of development is Muirinn Lane Kelly (whose credicts include Mistresses and Waking The Dead) and the development script editor is Nawfal Faizullah (Musketeers).

Asking for It, published in September 2015 by Quercus, is O’Neill’s second novel and has already won Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards 2015 and the Literature Prize at Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year Awards. It is also shortlisted for The Bookseller’s YA Book Prize 2016.

O’Neill will co-write the script of the TV adaptation.