Wharton’s Ghost Girl, Banana to be adapted for TV following three-way auction

Federation Stories has won television rights to Wiz Wharton’s Ghost Girl, Banana following a “competitive” three-way auction.

The screen deal was brokered by Emily Hayward-Whitlock at The Artist’s Partnership with Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White handling the original IP of the novel. Publishing in the UK in May 2023, the book sold in significant pre-empt deals in the UK and Commonwealth (Hodder & Stoughton), North America (Harper Via) and Italy (Piemme). German rights have been sold to Eichborn.

Wharton’s début novel, described by Hodder as “unique and enthralling”, follows protagonist Lily, who is drawn back to late-1990s Hong Kong after discovering a mysterious inheritance. Wharton will adapt it for television as a premium limited series.

Wharton said: “I am excited to be working with Federation Stories in adapting Ghost Girl, Banana for a new medium. From their initial beautifully presented proposal they stood out immediately as understanding my novel to its very bones, completely undaunted by the complexities of its dual-timeline, dual language narrative. I also hugely admire Polly and Arielle’s ethos of championing under-represented voices in the mainstream broadcast space, from original IP right through to their vision for recruiting cast and crew.”

Polly Williams, m.d. at Federation Stories, said: “The Hong Kong-British relationship and history is a hugely significant part of our culture, but we just don’t see enough stories about it. Wiz’s novel is beautifully told from the inside. It’s both specific and universal.”

Arielle Gottlieb, creative director at Federation Stories, added: “Ghost Girl, Banana has all the elements of a groundbreaking premium TV show – it’s a mystery, a love story and an odyssey.”