A lot can happen in a short span of time. A month and a half ago I wrote Doldrums Redux, my first blog in over a year. I tried to explain the reasons for the hiatus. Among those reasons, I questioned how prudent my choice of literary agency has been, and admitted that I was considering a change. Two weeks after posting, this happened:

Brandon Graham’s ‘Good for Nothing’ optioned for film, and ‘Missing People’ acquired in the United States & Canada

Good For Nothing is Brandon Graham’s debut novel and was published in the UK & Ireland by Skyscraper in 2014. At the Pontas Agency we’re very happy to announce that this witty exploration of the “North American male” is now being developed to become a feature film, as it has been optioned by British producer Michael Walker at Hallelujah Productions (and who is also currently writing the screenplay adapting “this book which I am passionate about”, in his own words).

The story follows the episodic escapades of Flip Mellis, an unemployed, newly obese and suicidal family man, who is reaching the apex of a middle-age tantrum. Exacerbated by plentiful personal flaws, including a self-fulfilling fatalism, and coinciding with a national economic crisis, Flip’s good intentions are tainted by his poor life skills and questionable rationalizations.

We’re also delighted to announce that Brandon Graham’s second novel, Missing People, has been acquired in English for the United States and Canada by Benjamin LeRoy at Tyrus Books, to be published in 2017. All other rights are available.

Missing People is an intense domestic drama, filled with acutely observed, damaged characters, and is framed as a resonant thriller. It explores the contemporary American family. It is rich with insights into what makes men and women tick, issues of identity and memory, longing and loss, and the role of the individual as part of a family. It forces the reader to take a serious look at the stories we tell ourselves, and others, about who we are and what we need to be whole.

working cover image

Brandon Graham has lived in eight states of the United States and four different countries, receiving three university degrees. He studied in Budapest (Hungary) and Dijon (France). He eventually settled near Chicago where he studied visual and written narrative at Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts, graduating with his MFA in 2008.

For more information, contact Leticia Vila-Sanjuán.

But that's not all. Drum Roll Please. At long last, Good For Nothing has also been acquired for the United States and Canada by Benjamin LeRoy at Tyrus Books, to be published in 2017.

SO . . . I apoligize to the whole team at Pontas for allowing doubt and frustration to creep in. They really came through for me, as they do for many writers from all around the globe. I'm lucky to be associated with them. Special thanks to Anna and Leticia.

I will unpack more details about my Tyrus Books in my next post. The contract process for the option is long and may take a few more weeks before 100% of the details are squared away. At some future point I'll dig into the option as well.