Clonakilty writer gets TV deal for her novel

By Siobhan Cronin 

CLONAKILTY author Louise O’Neill’s latest award-winning novel could be heading for TV.

The small screen rights for the book, Asking for It, were this week acquired Bandit Televsion, a division of the TV giant Endemol Shine. The deal was struck by Bandit boss Philippa Giles, who has previously worked on TV shows Luther and Silent Witness.

The book, which has won the Irish Book of the Year, along with a string of other international awards, tells the story of a young teenager whose life is turned upside down after the story of a sexual assault goes viral.

It is set in a fictional Irish town, but there is no doubt that Louise has drawn from her experience living in West Cork, when writing the novel.

She told The Southern Star this week that she would ‘love’ if the TV adaptation was filmed in West Cork, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.

This is the second O’Neill book to be optioned. Louise’s debut novel, Only Ever Yours, was optioned last September by Killer Content, the company behind the acclaimed movies Carol and Still Alice, which starred Julianne Moore.