Bloomsbury and Chicken House/Scholastic (respectively, the British and US publishers of Harry Potter) have chosen Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, as the book “to fill the Harry Potter void.” The British version was released in June, and the US edition will be published in January 2008. They’ve already sold translation rights in more than 25 languages, and they’ve recently announced a massive film deal not just for the first book, but for the entire series.
Relativity Media is a Hollywood financing and production company (which financed films such as Monster House and Spiderwick Chronicles). Relativity acquired the rights to Tunnels and its sequels, “in an unprecedented deal… ensuring that financing for the film is guaranteed,” according to Chicken House.
Ryan Kavanaugh, the CEO of Relativity, said “Tunnels represents the kind of timeless literary phenomenon that does not come around very often. The book has already generated such a huge response across the world and we look forward to putting the enchantment that Gordon and Williams first brought to the page, to the screen.”
Chicken House Publisher Barry Cunningham said “I’m utterly thrilled to be able to announce this relationship. From the moment I picked up Tunnels I got the same feeling as I did when I read Potter and I knew I had something great on my hands. The imagery and characters are so strong, I can’t wait to see it on the silver screen.” Cunningham and the authors will serve as Executive Producers of the film.