The 50 books we're dying to see get adapted

Adaptations are hot as ever right now, and with services like Netflix and Amazon continuing to expand their programming lineup, the need for interesting, established material is pretty high. Well Hollywood, we've got some options — and by "some," we mean 50 books and series that have either yet to be acquired or whose development appears to be stalled. Each would either make for a great film, an addicting series, or some prestige-y thing in-between. Call this our adaptation must-list — what are we missing? —David Canfield

An artistic little girl slowly going blind in Occupied Paris; an orphaned boy in pre WWII Germany with a gift for short-wave radio; a priceless diamond dubbed the Sea of Flames. Doerr’s sweeping novel captivated readers on its release in 2014 and took home the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Movie rights were promptly snapped up by 20th Century Fox, but there’s been scant news since then — All the Film We Cannot See. —Leah Greenblatt

Scott Rudin bought the film rights for the novel before it had even been published, Chabon himself was set to write the script, and at one point Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire were attached to star, but a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book never came to fruition. Given that it's Chabon's crowning achievement, we hope one does eventually. —Esme Douglas

Jones' gorgeous and timely marital drama, about the effects on a black couple after the husband, Roy, is wrongfully incarcerated, sold like hotcakes after Oprah selected it for her Book Club earlier this year. Jones' feel for juicy human drama, not to mention her warm, nuanced sketchings of her characters, makes this buzzy title a must for Hollywood's eyes. —David Canfield

Spoiler alert: This book is based on the life of Laura Bush. Sittenfeld was famously inspired by the former First Lady’s biography, which became this semi-fictional telling of a Wisconsin grade school teacher who finds herself in the White House and at odds with her liberal upbringing. American Wife hit bookshelves 10 years ago but its themes of partisan politics and grappling with an inner conscience (yes, here’s looking at you, certain members of the current First Family) have never been more prescient. —Seija Rankin

Sure, we’re getting a prequel to The Sandlot, but what we really need is an adaption of Harbach's lyrical The Art of Fielding. Good baseball films come by once in a blue moon (sorry, Million Dollar Arm), and Harbach’s nuanced, thrilling story could serve as a quality follow-up to the classic 1993 Sandlot (sorry, Sandlot 2). Think “the college years,” where Benny “The Jet” Rodriquez goes to school in northeastern Wisconsin and navigates love off the field (and, yeah, takes on the name of Henry Skrimshander). With the book finally out of an ugly legal battle, now's the time to see The Art of Fielding up-close. —Joseph Longo

While The Awakening has technically been adapted — into the 1991 made-for-TV movie Grand Isle, starring Kelly McGillis — that version hardly counts as definitive. And if ever there were an opportune moment for Kate Chopin’s 1899 proto-feminist high-school-English standby to get the lush period piece it deserves (not to mention the Best Actress nomination that would almost certainly follow), it would have to be right now. —Mary Sollosi

Often considered unfilmable, Pynchon actually proved to be a pretty good adaptation candidate in the hands of Paul Thomas Anderson; the lauded filmmaker’s comic-noir take on Inherent Vice led to an Oscar nomination for writing and plenty of rave reviews. Pynchon’s got bigger — and better — books in his bibliography, but as to what comes next we’ll suggest his most recent novel, Bleeding Edge. It’s another mammoth (in length), but operates in a milieu that’d be fascinating to see rendered visually: a detective story in 9/11-era New York, just as the internet is preparing to change the world. —David Canfield

Gold’s historical mystery is so vivid and wild it’s a wonder it hasn’t crossed over just yet. Film rights were acquired shortly after it was published, to acclaim and commercial success, in 2001, and since then it’s been stuck in “development hell.” Reports surface from time to time about new attempts to get something off the ground, but this fictionalized portrait of stage magician Charles Joseph Carter feels cursed. Anyone got a trick up their sleeve? —David Canfield

This cult classic picaresque novel won the author a posthumous Pulitzer Prize; Toole's vibrant, expansive take on ‘60s New Orleans was beloved enough to thrust it into the canon of modern Southern literature. And yet it’s never made it to the screen. That said: The story of how close it got is epic, fascinating, and — for fans of the book — fairly tragic. Rather than summing it up, best to read it in full. —David Canfield

Despite its award-winning pedigree — it won the 2001 National Book Award — The Corrections comes with a lot of baggage: Oprah infamously rescinded her Book Club invitation after Franzen criticized the mogul’s “schmaltzy” past selections; an HBO adaptation attempt has already come and gone; and certainly, Franzen’s a much more controversial name than he was 15 years ago. But this book, easily the novelist’s best, is still a sprawling, ambitious, imaginative work filled with great, flawed characters who’d translate well to the screen. And if we can’t get a fresh adaptation, can we at least finally see what HBO — and Noah Baumbach, and Dianne Wiest, and Chris Cooper, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ewan McGregor — came up with? —David Canfield

What more will it take for this best-selling novel to make it to the big screen — or even to cable or streaming? The novel's film rights were sold years ago, and a smash theatrical adaptation already won the Tony for Best Play. This sweet, sad, beloved story of a 15-year-old boy on the autism spectrum investigating the death of a neighbor’s dog needs to get out of limbo. Our suggestion: Adapt the cathartic play for screen, cast go-to TV dad Ty Burrell as the single parent, and let’s get this thing made. —Joseph Longo

Are any twentysomething actors out there yearning for an Oscar? Sign them up for this Civil War drama, an expansive and episodic story about a gay pair of American soldiers in the 1850s fighting for their lives and their futures. Beyond the obvious coup for cinematic representation that Sebastian Barry’s stunning novel presents, the book’s protagonists Thomas McNulty and John Cole are captivating if introspective creations perfect for onscreen interpretation. What's disarming is how, despite being inextricably of a time, their needs are timeless; as they go from part-time burlesque dancers to dutiful soldiers to accidental domestic settlers, the duo embody the creed that gay people forge their own families — in the Civil War and otherwise. —Marc Snetiker

José Saramago’s touching, thought-provoking meditation on life, loss, and the limbo between those two mortal inevitabilities is one of his most ingenious and idiosyncratic works. Unfilmable? Perhaps. But in the hands of a filmmaker as alive to the intricacies of balancing absurdist philosophy and tender human emotion as Saramago, the novel’s genre-defying story could yield a truly poetic work of speculative cinema to stand alongside Children of Men. —Isaac Feldberg

Erik Larson’s nonfiction best-seller is one of those true tales delivered so masterfully that it’s no less compelling than the finest thriller. Weaving together the lives of the architect behind the great Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, and the dastardly serial killer who used the fair as his killing floor, The Devil in the White City offers every Hollywood screenwriter dreams of stumbling across. Last we’d heard, Martin Scorsese was lined up to direct the adaptation, with Leonardo DiCaprio (who purchased the rights back in 2010) playing serial killer H.H. Holmes; Billy Ray was set to write the script back in the summer of 2015, but we’ve heard precious little since. —Isaac Feldberg

It’s likely a matter of when, not if, the biggest memoir of 2018 gets into the development process. Tara Westover’s searing, inspiring account of growing up with survivalist parents before graduating from Cambridge University — think The Glass Castle meets Wild — has been a huge best-seller since its February publication, and continues to find new readers. Let the casting games begin. —David Canfield

Moshfegh has written one of our favorite books of the year so far — My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which Margot Robbie’s production company has already scooped up for optioning — but her previous novel, the Man Booker shortlisted-Eileen, is just as delectable. It mixes elements of suspense, horror, and comedy in its depiction of a woman who works at a prison in ‘60s Massachusetts, of an aesthetic perfect for A24’s next arthouse horror flick. —David Canfield

It seems that the post-Hunger Games glut of YA fantasy/dystopian adaptations is starting to slow down. But we hope that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for Tahir’s expansive magical saga, which was acquired before the first book’s publication in 2013, but has seemingly been stuck in limbo over the past few years. There are many reasons to reignite the effort to produce this one — every book in the series has hit the Times best-seller list — but chiefly, its representation of Muslim characters and mythologies is unparalleled compared to anything Hollywood has been putting out there. —David Canfield

Few 20th century writers crafted social comedies as scathingly brilliant as Barbara Pym. Her second novel Excellent Women is her most howlingly funny, centered on a spinster in ‘50s England as her life bursts wide open when new neighbors (and men) enter into her life. Pym's Austen-like ability to instill each character with delightful absurdity makes adaptation a little tricky — a particular balance needs to be struck — but in the hands of someone like Whit Stillman, who did such a good job on Love and Friendship, we could see it working splendidly. —David Canfield

Barack Obama called it his favorite book of 2015, and being number one on a sitting president’s fiction list certainly didn’t hurt the prospects for Groff’s heady modern meditation on love and obsession, tinged with Greek mythology. But sales and accolades haven’t led to a greenlit movie adaptation — yet. (It also hasn’t stopped fans from dream-casting the characters: in one current online poll, Alexander Skarsgard bests Ryan Gosling for the lead role of conflicted thespian Lotto; Scarlett Johansson, Yvonne Strahovski and Diane Kruger are all in the imaginary running for Mathilde). —Leah Greenblatt

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin have something in common: Both have advocated for Roger Zelanzy’s The Chronicles of Amber fantasy novels to be made into a TV series. Various writers (including Kirkman) have tried to adapt the adult fantasy tale of a warring royal family whose members have the ability to jump between parallel worlds, yet for some reason a network has yet to pull the trigger. —James Hibberd

It’s almost too cruel that we were ever even teased with the possibility of a Jane Campion-directed adaptation of Rachel Kushner’s 2013 National Book Award finalist, only to have that dream taken away. But if we can’t have a majestic big-screen desert-motorcycle race, and if we can’t have Italian radicals rioting in an enormous, kinetic set piece, then can’t we please, at the very least, get a short film of Reno’s first night out in New York? —Mary Sollosi

Imagine The Da Vinci Code, but less ridiculous and a whole lot smarter. That pretty much sums up Italian author Umberto Eco’s esoteric (and undeniably cinematic) doorstop-sized conspiracy thriller about the Knights Templar, Jewish mysticism, code-breaking, numerology, the Holy Grail, and an obsessive, high-IQ scavenger hunt that can only result in madness. —Chris Nashawaty

The film world can never have enough cults — at least as far our fellow cult enthusiasts are concerned. Sure, the story of the Helter Skelter gang — which The Girls is based on — isn’t exactly new, and the novel’s story went a wee bit off the rails by the end, but that is exactly what makes a riveting movie. It’s a little too on-the-nose to hope for Elizabeth Olsen to be cast as the mesmerizing Suzanne, the older girl who lures protagonist Evie into the cult (or is it just right?), but Hollywood offers a myriad of actresses who are ripe for translating that very particular brand of crazy on the big screen. —Seija Rankin

Romance novels are having a bit of a moment in Hollywood, with Shonda Rhimes’ announced adaptation of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series following Christina Lauren’s Roomies, Helen Hoang's The Kiss Quotient, and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game all going into development. And we’d kill to see Shonda take a stab at this series next — with its deep bench of diverse characters; its sensitive and emotional handling of issues like depression, PTSD, and self-worth; and its tale of feuding families, it’s the stuff primetime soap dreams are made of. The complex, nuanced heroines who grapple with serious demons are more of what we need on television, and they share DNA with the likes of Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey. Not to mention Rai’s smoldering heroes will make you forget McDreamy ever existed. —Maureen Lee Lenker

One night, while watching an episode of Alias, Ally Carter mistakenly thought she was watching a show about a girl in spy school. While she ended up being incorrect, it spawned the idea for the first Gallagher Girls book, and six books later, it’s safe to say it paid off. The series follows Cammie and her friends through the halls of Gallagher Academy, an all-girls spy school. As they train for their futures as spies, the girls complete missions (and even join forces with the top secret all-boys spy school in book two). With action, romance, and angsty drama, this series is begging to be turned into a frothy teen drama. —Aja Hoggatt

One of the funniest books of the last few years offers a familiar story of a woman’s disillusioned return home to her parents, only for things to turn delightfully unhinged. Khong writes with profound empathy, and with humor that’s always sharp but never cruel. Her voice feels like a natural fit for an intimate HBO half-hour. —David Canfield

Even though Game of Thrones is distinctly different from Lord of the Rings in its prolific sex and willingness to kill off major characters, the two most famous fantasy stories of the last 100 years both feature the same kind of medieval European setting. You’d be forgiven for thinking that fantasy stories could only look this one way, but in fact the opposite is true. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy is a great example of fantasy that posits a radically different imaginary world, one where people come in all shapes and colors, and all of creation is ruled by a trio of brother-sister gods. At least, it used to be; when the story starts, the world has gone terribly wrong, and now one god rules above all others. Many fantasy stories end with a simple restoration of monarchy or reversal to status quo, but Jemisin’s characters instead seek to radically change their world for the better. Their primary weapon in doing so is not violence but sex — good, fulfilling, universe-shaking god sex. Any ambitious producers looking to shake up the fantasy landscape would do well to tackle her work. —Christian Holub

2018 marks a bit of a breakthrough year for Wolitzer, between the upcoming Glenn Close-led adaptation of her early novel The Wife and the huge success of her newest book, The Female Persuasion (which Nicole Kidman is in the early stages of developing). So it seems like a good time for the author’s best novel — an epic and wise tale that follows the lives of friends who meet at an arts camp — to get the screen treatment it deserves. An Amazon pilot starring Tony nominee (and Six Feet Under alum) Lauren Ambrose was produced a few years ago, but didn’t make it to series. —David Canfield

This metaphysical fable might struggle if producers attempt to Americanize Murakami’s surreally mythic masterwork, Death Note-style. But a sumptuous anime adaptation of one of this century’s most beguiling works of narrative fiction? Oh, absolutely. Such an approach would ensure painstaking detail is paid to visualizing Murakami’s rich vision of lost cats, spirit worlds, and falling fish. —Isaac Feldberg

Black Panther wowed audiences earlier this year not just for its big-budget spectacle and A-list cast, but for the way it wove science-fiction and superhero tropes into the context of the global black experience. Octavia E. Butler is basically the godmother of such work, and her novel Kindred would make for an excellent adaptation, especially at a time when racism and racial justice are at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. Like 12 Years a Slave by way of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Kindred tells the story of Dana, a 20th-century African-American writer who keeps getting pulled back in time to the pre-Civil War Maryland plantation where her ancestors were enslaved. When she first arrives, Dana saves the life of a young white boy named Rufus, who is grateful for her help. But over the course of multiple time trips, Rufus grows older and Southern society corrupts him into a plantation master who treats Dana just like any other slave. By comparing modern and antebellum Americas so vividly, Kindred has a lot of thought-provoking things to say about the legacy of slavery and the changing nature of interracial relationships. The book was also recently adapted into graphic novel form by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, which showcased the story’s power and openness to adaptation. —Christian Holub

This 2005 fantasy epic — from Secrets of Droon author Tony Abbott — gave Santa Claus a rip-roaring origin story, replete with child-stealing goblins, runic prophecies, flying reindeer, and a gallant orphan determined to bring joy back to the world. Paramount and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura optioned film rights back in 2007, setting Chicken Little’s Mark Dindal to co-write and direct; the project’s currently in limbo after the studio let its option lapse, but one imagines family audiences would eagerly flock to theaters (especially around the holidays) for an imaginative, high-flying adventure story like this, set in a richly drawn world evocative of Narnia and Middle-Earth. —Isaac Feldberg

Ursula K. Le Guin passed away earlier this year, but she left behind a voluminous body of literary works that remain just as inspiring and groundbreaking as when she first wrote them. Embarrassingly, for a cultural period in which the biggest TV shows and movies are fantasy and science-fiction adventures, very little of Le Guin’s work has been adapted for the screen, and the less said about the few attempts (such as Syfy’s disastrous Earthsea miniseries), the better. There seems no better way to make up for this failure than for someone to adapt her greatest novel, the story of a man who travels to a distant planet and learns that forces like gender and weather are not quite as natural or constant as commonly supposed. On the icy planet Gethen, humans have evolved in such a way as to be asexual most of the time, only sprouting genitals once a month in reaction to a partner — meaning that there are Gethenians who have both mothered and fathered different children with different partners. The envoy Genly Ai’s journey to understand people so radically different from him brings him up against topics — sexual spectrums, mutual understanding, and even authoritarian politics — that seem to be more and more on people’s minds every day. —Christian Holub