Working Title Options Film Rights To Bolu Babalola’s Rom-Com Novel ‘Honey And Spice’
EXCLUSIVE: Bridget Jones, Notting Hill and Love Actually producer Working Title has found its next rom-com in the shape of British Nigerian author Bolu Babalola’s novel Honey And Spice.
Working Title has optioned film rights to the novel and set Babalola to adapt the screenplay, which will mark her debut as a feature film screenwriter after her TV pilot Big Age, which she created, wrote and executive-produced, was broadcast on Channel 4 in 2021.
Babalola’s debut novel centres on a young Black British woman who has no interest in love but unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the very man she warned her girls about.
Following publication, Honey and Spice became a bestseller in both the UK and the U.S. It was chosen for the Reese Witherspoon and TikTok Book Clubs, and was recommended as a book of the year by outlets including Waterstones, New York Times, TIME and NPR, and won the inaugural TikTok Book of the Year Award.
Author and journalist Babalola’s short story collection Love In Colour was published in 2020 and became a Times bestseller and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year. Her latest novel Sweet Heat was published this summer.
Babalola said: “Since Honey and Spice was published, I’ve been so appreciative of the incredible response from readers and the industry alike. As my debut novel, Kiki and Malakai’s story is so close to my heart, and I can’t wait to adapt their trials and tribulations in love for cinema audiences with the master of romantic films: Working Title.”
Amelia Granger, Head of Film and Television at Working Title Films, added: “We’re always on the lookout for the next generation of storytellers who can reinvent the romantic comedy for audiences of every age. We knew we couldn’t miss this opportunity to work with Bolu, a talented writer every bit in the ascendancy, and who has created these wonderful characters who we just want to watch falling in love. We’re so excited to be working with Bolu to bring Honey and Spice to the big screen.”
