Poets & Writers Theater

Little Fires Everywhere is a television adaptation of Celeste Ng’s 2017 novel of the same name about the tensions between two families in the Ohio suburbs during the 1990s. The eight-episode miniseries is directed by Lynn Shelton and stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Jordan Elsass, Joshua Jackson, Kerry Washington, and Reese Witherspoon.

Dracula is a new BBC/Netflix television adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 gothic horror novel. Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the three-episode miniseries stars Claes Bang in the title role, along with Morfydd Clark, John Heffernan, and Dolly Wells.

The Rhythm Section (HarperCollins, 2000), Mark Burnell’s first novel in his series featuring international spy Stephanie Patrick, has been adapted into a film. Directed by Reed Morano, the thriller about a woman who goes undercover as an assassin after her entire family is killed in an orchestrated plane crash stars Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Sterling K. Brown.

The Personal History of David Copperfield is a film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s autobiographical novel, first published as a book in 1850. The comedic drama is directed by Armando Iannucci and stars Dev Patel as the titular character, and the cast includes Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Sophie McShera, Tilda Swinton, and Ben Whishaw.

Charles Dickens’s classic 1843 holiday novella, A Christmas Carol, has been adapted into a new BBC television drama. The three-part fantasy miniseries is directed by Nick Murphy, and stars Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit, Jason Flemyng as the Ghost of Christmas Future, Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley, Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge, Charlotte Riley as Lottie (the Ghost of Christmas Present), and Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past.

The Call of the Wild is a new feature film adaptation of Jack London’s classic 1903 adventure novel about a dog named Buck who must struggle to survive in the Yukon wilderness during the 1890s gold rush. The live-action CGI-animated film is directed by Chris Sanders and stars Harrison Ford, Karen Gillan, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, and Bradley Whitford.

The Earthquake Bird (Picador, 2001), the debut mystery novel by British author Susanna Jones, has been adapted into a feature film directed by Wash Westmoreland. The psychological thriller follows a young expat in 1989 Tokyo who is accused of murder when her friend goes missing and stars Riley Keough, Naoki Kobayashi, Kenichi Masuda, Kiki Sukezane, and Alicia Vikander.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (Spiegel & Grau, 2014) by Bryan Stevenson, a memoir recounting his experience as a young defense attorney fighting for a death row inmate wrongfully convicted of murder, has been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the legal drama stars Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, and Rafe Spall.

Dublin Murders is a BBC television adaptation of the first two novels in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad mystery series, In the Woods (Viking, 2007) and The Likeness (Viking, 2008), which follows two detectives investigating homicides in contemporary Dublin. Adapted by Sarah Phelps, the eight-episode crime show stars Moe Dunford, Sarah Greene, Killian Scott, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

Mrs. Fletcher (Scribner, 2017) by Tom Perrotta—whose novels Election, Little Children, and The Leftovers have previously inspired screen adaptations—has been adapted into an HBO television series. The comedy series stars Kathryn Hahn as Eve Fletcher, a divorcée who has a midlife sexual awakening after her son leaves home for college.

Jojo Rabbit is a film adaptation of Christine Leunens’s novel Caging Skies (Overlook Press, 2019), a dark comic story set in 1940s Vienna about a ten-year-old boy in the Hitler Youth who discovers that his parents are hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Directed by Taika Waititi, who also costars as an imaginary Adolf Hitler, the satire stars Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Rebel Wilson.

Stephen King’s novel Doctor Sleep (Scribner, 2013), the sequel to his 1977 classic The Shining, has been adapted into a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan. The movie picks up the story several decades later as a grown-up Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, meets a young girl with psychic powers similar to his own that he tries to protect from a supernatural cult of murderous nomads.

Dickinson is the first web television series from Apple TV Plus, a period piece about Emily Dickinson with a modern and comedic twist starring Hailee Steinfeld. Created by Alena Smith, the cast includes Jane Krakowski as Mrs. Dickinson, Zosia Mamet as Louisa May Alcott, John Mulaney as Henry David Thoreau, and Wiz Khalifa as Death.

A Million Little Pieces (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2003), the controversial and fabricated best-selling memoir by James Frey, has been adapted into a feature film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Odessa Young, the film focuses on the life of a young writer seeking treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

Malina, the 1971 novel by Austrian author Ingeborg Bachmann, was rereleased by New Directions in May with a revised translation from the German by Philip Boehm and an introduction by Rachel Kushner. A screening of the 1991 film adaptation of the novel, directed by Werner Schroeter, was recently presented in celebration of the book.

Motherless Brooklyn, a film adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s 1999 novel of the same name, stars Edward Norton as Lionel Essrog, a lonely private detective afflicted with Tourette’s Syndrome who attempts to solve the murder of his friend and mentor. Directed by Norton, the film’s cast includes Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Bruce Willis.

The King is a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s history plays known as the Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, and Henry V. Directed by David Michôd, the film stars Ben Mendelsohn as King Henry IV, Timothée Chalamet as King Henry V, and Joel Edgerton as Falstaff. Michôd and Edgerton cowrote the screenplay.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age novel, has been adapted into a feature film directed by Greta Gerwig. The story takes place in the years following the American Civil War and revolves around the March sisters played by Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, and Emma Watson.

Looking for Alaska (Dutton Books, 2005), John Green’s debut young adult novel based on his own experiences at a boarding school, has been adapted into a television miniseries for Hulu. Created by Josh Schwartz, the teen drama stars Kristine Froseth, Charlie Plummer, Uriah Shelton, and Sofia Vassilieva.

“Ultimately I knew that words have power.” Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s documentary about Toni Morrison is an exploration of the author’s life story, her values and challenges, and her creative work. The film includes engaging interviews with Morrison, as well as notable peers, colleagues, and admirers such as Hilton Als, Russell Banks, Angela Davis, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez, and Oprah Winfrey.