“Good Books” by Tahmima Anam to Adapt for TV with Pacesetter, Kudos

By Grace Kim

Pacesetter Productions and Kudos are developing a television adaptation of Tahmima Anam’s forthcoming novel “Good Books,” with publication set for 2028, Variety has learned. The television adaptation (the conversion of a novel for television) is in development. Variety’s report names no network, cast or production schedule.

Anam, the author of “A Golden Age” and “The Good Muslim,” is adapting “Good Books” with Alison Brown, Variety reports. Brown is an Emmy-nominated writer and producer whose credits include “Emily in Paris,” “Younger” and “Upload.” Variety describes “Good Books” as a novel set behind the scenes in publishing.

Variety reports that the novel was first announced at the Edinburgh Book Festival, where Anam sat on multiple panels. During the festival, U.K. publisher Cannongate signed the book for publication in 2028. Cannongate’s frequent U.S. collaborator Scribner bought the North American rights, meaning permission to publish the novel in that market.

At the time of the deal, Cannongate described the book as:

“The Devil Wears Prada” meets “Yellowface,” and about “how books get made and who gets to make them, imposter syndrome and what one needs to rise above it, and most of all about mothers, daughters and the people who stand in for them.”

That description joins the mechanics of publishing with relationships between mothers and daughters. Imposter syndrome (a persistent feeling of not belonging or deserving success) is one of the subjects the publisher names.

The novel’s synopsis reads:

“When Raya Chatterji meets Prue McNeill, London’s most respected literary agent, at the New York bookshop where she works, she has no idea what this encounter will bring: a new career; a return to the city of her birth; and the secrets she left behind.”

Raya works in a New York bookshop when she meets Prue McNeill, a London literary agent (a professional who represents writers). The encounter sets up a new career, a return to Raya’s birthplace and the secrets she left behind.

Variety points to two production track records behind the project:

• Pacesetter Productions, founded by Jessica Rhoades, produced Peacock’s recent spy thriller series “Ponies.” It has partnered with Charlie Brooker as a producer on “Black Mirror” and the upcoming Philomena Cunk comedy “Cunk on Cinema.”
• Kudos, part of Banijay, stands behind “House of Guinness,” “SAS: Rogue Heroes” and “Grantchester.” Variety calls it one of the U.K.’s most respected names in television.

Variety’s profile notes that Anam wrote the Bengal trilogy and received the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book and the O. Henry Award. Her novel “Uprising” was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.

She is also a Granta Best of Young British Novelist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, she trained as an anthropologist at Harvard University.

What does the television adaptation change for readers?

For readers, the practical change is limited to the prospect of a later screen version. Publication remains set for 2028, and the U.K. and North American publishing arrangements are already in place.

Variety gives no casting, commissioning broadcaster, production timetable or financial terms. That leaves the adaptation’s scale, tone and release date open questions, while the book retains its stated themes and characters.

The next test is concrete: Pacesetter and Kudos need to name a cast, a broadcaster and a schedule. Until they do, “Good Books” remains a 2028 publication with a television version in development.