It has just been announced that author Christine Leunens' screenplay, an adaptation of her upcoming novel, has been accepted by Academy Award-winning producer Mimi Polk Gitlin.
The Whanganui Literary Festival Trust is delighted because Christine is one of the festival's visiting authors. She had been invited to talk about her novel, Caging Skies, which was made into the movie JoJo Rabbit by Taika Waititi.
Her latest novel, In Amber's Wake, will not be launched until February 14, 2022, just prior to the new date for the festival, so the Whanganui audience will be amongst the first to hear about it.
There will be much to discuss. What could be of particular interest is that Christine herself wrote the screenplay for In Amber's Wake, whereas Taika Waititi wrote the adaptation for Caging Skies.
Set in New Zealand during the fast-changing, tumultuous 1980s era of the anti-nuclear movement, Springbok rugby tour protests, and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, In Amber's Wake is a powerful and passionate novel that shows the staggering lengths some people will go to for those they love.