Jeff Norton’s London-based Awesome options Gillian Best’s debut novel THE LAST WAVE from House of Anansi Press

Jeff Norton’s London-based company to develop book for television

Written by award-winning, Bristol-based Gillian Best and published by House of Anansi Press, ‘THE LAST WAVE’ won rave reviews in North America and has become a book club favourite, establishing its author as a bold new voice in literary fiction.

Awesome will immediately begin developing ‘THE LAST WAVE’ for television, with Norton and ex BBC Worldwide and ITV Studios executive Fraser Robinson attached as Executive Producers.

The deal marks Awesome’s first literary acquisition since taking investment from global content company Kew Media Group.

Awesome Media & Entertainment Ltd. (Awesome), the creative content company founded by writer-producer Jeff Norton has optioned the media rights to debut novel ‘THE LAST WAVE’.

Written by award-winning, Bristol-based Gillian Best and published by House of Anansi Press, ‘THE LAST WAVE’ won rave reviews in North America and has become a book club favourite, establishing its author as a bold new voice in literary fiction.

Awesome will immediately begin developing ‘THE LAST WAVE’ for television, with Norton and ex BBC Worldwide and ITV Studios executive Fraser Robinson attached as Executive Producers.

The deal marks Awesome’s first literary acquisition since taking investment from global content company Kew Media Group. With Kew’s backing, Awesome is ramping up its scripted development of book-based IP. Awesome previously optioned TV rights in Jay Gunn’s cult-hit graphic novel ‘SURFACE TENSION’ and is co-developing that franchise with Wall to Wall Television (part of Warner Bros. UK).

Executive Producer Jeff Norton says “Awesome is an author-founded company and we want to be the home for the world’s most creative storytellers. Gillian Best’s novel is heart-breaking yet ultimately heart-warming tale that is at once a feminist story, a novel about a marriage and a narrative about one woman’s self-empowerment and liberation from domestic life.”

‘THE LAST WAVE’, set in Dover, U.K., is an intergenerational saga that revolves around the protagonist Martha, (a woman who has swum the English Channel ten times), and the complex relationships she has with her husband, her children, and her close friends. The one constant in Martha's life is the sea, which provides an allegorical backdrop to three generations of her family.

Author Gillian Best adds “I'm delighted that Awesome has picked up ‘THE LAST WAVE’. As an author, I’ve found it incredibly fascinating to hear how my novel has been interpreted by different readers, and I'm excited to see what new perspectives this will bring.”

House of Anansi Press, which has published authors including Margaret Atwood and Patrick De Witt, has increasingly become involved in book adaptations: Lisa Moore’s novel ‘CAUGHT’ recently aired on Canada’s CBC as a five part mini-series, and the feature length adaption of Deborah Ellis’ ‘THE BREADWINNER’ was nominated for an Academy Award.

Sarah MacLachlan, President and Publisher, House of Anansi Press, says “‘THE LAST WAVE’ is not only beautifully written but also strikingly visual and we are delighted that Awesome will be shepherding it to the screen.”

About Awesome
Awesome Media & Entertainment (‘Awesome’) is a creative content company dedicated to the creation of compelling characters, engaging stories, and immersive worlds. Founded in 2010, Awesome began as the intellectual property vehicle for author Jeff Norton’s novels and creations, publishing over 25 novels with major publishers, and is now developing television adaptations of its books with best-in-class production partners and originating high-end drama. Kew Media Group became a shareholder of Awesome in 2017.

On the web here and on Twitter as @awesomemediaent

About author Gillian Best
Gillian Best is a writer, swimmer, and seaside enthusiast. She won the Bronwen Wallace Award for Short Fiction and was a finalist for the Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition and Wasafiri's New Writing Prize. She was also longlisted for the WriteIdea Short Story Prize. She has studied at York University, University College Falmouth, and the University of Glasgow. Originally from Waterloo, Canada, she now lives in Bristol, U.K.

On the web here and on Twitter as @gillianebest

About House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and David Godfrey. Anansi started as a small press with a mandate to publish Canadian writers, and quickly gained attention for publishing authors such as Margaret Atwood, Matt Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, and Erín Moure, as well as George Grant and Northrop Frye. Today, the company specializes in finding and developing Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction, including Katherena Vermette, Lisa Moore, Patrick DeWitt, Lynn Coady, Rawi Hage, Kathleen Winter, Zoe Whittall, and Misha Glenny and in maintaining the culturally significant backlist that has accumulated in the decades since the house was founded.

On the web here and on Twitter as @houseofanansi