Red Planet Pictures to adapt Will Dean’s Tuva series, with Rose Ayling-Ellis to star

Source: Red Planet Pictures

Red Planet Pictures (known for DEATH IN PARADISE and SANDITON) has acquired the rights to adapt Will Dean’s Tuva Moodyson crime novels from Conrad Williams at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.   Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis (whose acting credits include EASTENDERS and AS YOU LIKE IT) is to star as its redoubtable heroine, Tuva Moodyson.

Moving back to her hometown in the wilds of Scotland, Tuva finds herself working on a small-time local paper, desperate for a scoop.  When a serial killer who has remained dormant for twenty years starts to kill again, Tuva finds herself with a front-page story that could make her career.  If it doesn’t kill her first.

DARK PINES, the first in the Tuva Moodyson series, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2018, shortlisted for Not the Booker prize, and named as a Daily Telegraph ‘Book of the Year’. RED SNOW and BLACK RIVER were both longlisted for ‘Crime Novel of the Year’ at the Theakston Old Peculier Awards in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest in the series, WOLF PACK, has been delighting readers and critics alike, with the Observer picking it as their ‘Book of the Month’ and Allison Flood declaring it to be ‘claustrophobically horrifying.’

The  series is being adapted into a six-part returning crime thriller series by screenwriter and award-winning playwright Charlotte Jones. Currently in development under the working title TUVA, it moves the setting of the series from Sweden to the UK. It will be exec-produced by Belinda Campbell and Caroline Skinner for Red Planet Pictures.

Hodder is set to publish ICE TOWN, the sixth book in the Tuva Moodyson series, in October 2024.

About Will Dean

Photo credit: Rosalind Hobley

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Will’s first standalone novel, THE LAST THING TO BURN, was a word-of-mouth sensation reviewed positively by readers and media alike. It was shortlisted for Thriller Book of the Year at the Fingerprint Awards 2022, Crime Novel of the Year at the Theakston Old Peculier Awards 2022 and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2022 and was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2022.

Hodder published his third standalone novel, THE LAST PASSENGER, in the UK in May 2023, while Emily Bestler Books (Simon & Schuster) published in the US. He is currently writing his fourth book for both publishers, THE CHAMBER.

Praise for Tuva book series

‘Tuva […] is admirably resilient, full of warmth and humour (as well as having curious gastronomic tastes) and generally manages to identify the murderers who skulk among the strange inhabitants of the region… Her travails may well give sensitive readers nightmares, but that’s a small price to pay for spending time in her exhilarating company.’ – Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

‘Crackles along at a roaring pace, as Dean piles on sinister locals, hideous troll figures and danger in the dripping wet forest…’ – Observer

‘Tuva is a wonderful creation and Dean’s series is not to be missed.’ – Daily Express

‘It's great. You get snow, ice, Swedishness, murder and liquorice!’ – Marian Keyes

‘Atmospheric, creepy and tense. Loved the Twin Peaks vibe. Loved Tuva. More please!’ – C.J. Tudor, author of THE CHALK MAN

‘Scandi Noir meets Gormenghast. Just wonderful. Can’t get enough of Tuva Moodyson…’ – Mark Billingham

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Will Dean’s bestselling Tuva series to be published by Hodder

Photo credit: Rosalind Hobley

Jo Dickinson, executive publisher at Hodder & Stoughton, has acquired world English language rights from Kate Burke to books six and seven in Will Dean’s Tuva Moodyson series. With the first five books of the series previously published by Oneworld, this move brings all of Dean’s writing under one publishing house. She has also acquired the US rights in books one through to five.

Hodder has published Dean’s standalone novels since 2021, beginning with THE LAST THING TO BURN which received huge acclaim from readers and reviewers alike, and was nominated for a number of awards. The paperback of Dean’s second standalone novel FIRST BORN and the hardback of his third, THE LAST PASSENGER, will both be published in spring 2023, backed by major campaigns.

Will Dean says: ‘Writing the Tuva Moodyson books is a privilege. Every novel is both a challenge and a real pleasure to write. I am constantly awed by the dedication and talent of the Hodder team, and I’m thrilled Jo Dickinson will be publishing the next books in the series. I’m excited for readers, new and old, to discover the next Tuva story: a dark, icy standalone set deep in the Swedish mountains.’

Kate Burke says: 'I’m delighted to have this deal in place, bringing both strands of Will’s brilliant writing under one roof. I’m very excited for the next steps in his publishing journey!”

Jo Dickinson says that it has been ‘an absolute joy to work with Will these past three years’, and added: ‘His creativity, ambition and passion for the writing community is awe-inspiring. Bringing the Tuva series to the Hodder list is the exciting next step in our growth and allows us to manage both strands to maximum potential.’

Book six in the Tuva series, as yet untitled, will feature Tuva Moodyson but be a standalone locked-room thriller. It will be published in hardback, e-book and audio in autumn 2024.

The synopsis reads: ‘When reporter Moodyson discovers a deaf teenage ice-hockey star has gone missing in the far north of Sweden, she races eight hours north. The town she arrives at is separated from the outside world by a vast mountain range, accessible only through a tunnel that closes each night. As Tuva investigates, other locals begin to go missing and it becomes clear there is a serial killer on the loose, who is locked in with the town every night…’

About Will Dean

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

Praise for Tuva Moodyson series

‘Scandi Noir meets Gormenghast. Just wonderful. Can’t get enough of Tuva Moodyson…’ – Mark Billingham

‘Tuva is a wonderful creation and Dean’s series is not to be missed.’ — Daily Express

‘In the legions of “Scandibrits” – British writers who set their work in the Nordic countries – Will Dean is primus inter pares.’ – Financial Times

 ‘Tuva […] is admirably resilient, full of warmth and humour (as well as having curious gastronomic tastes) and generally manages to identify the murderers who skulk among the strange inhabitants of the region… Her travails may well give sensitive readers nightmares, but that’s a small price to pay for spending time in her exhilarating company.’ – Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram.

Visit Will’s YouTube channel.

Will Dean longlisted for the 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award

BLACK RIVER, the third book in Will Dean’s Tuva Moodyson series, has been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel Award. The award, which is now in its 17th year, celebrates excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors. Past winners include Denise Mina, Steve Cavanagh, Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre. Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston said:

“The way the global obsession with the crime genre continues to grow year on year is simply astonishing and this year’s longlist proves the remarkable talent on offer in crime writing, from legends of the craft to eager-eyed newcomers.

The shortlist is already too close to call, so we encourage all to get voting.

A hearty toast of Old Peculier to all longlisted authors for this coveted award, and we look forward to what we know will be a fiercely fought competition.”

The public can vote on the shortlist which will be announced in June as well as pick an overall winner on harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com which will then be announced on 22 July during the opening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The winner will receive a cheque for £3,000, and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.

BLACK RIVER was first published by Point Blank in 2020. When Tuva’s best friend Tammy Yamnim goes missing she races back to Gavrik at the height of Midsommar. Tuva fears for Tammy’s life. Who has taken her, and why? And who is sabotaging the small-town search efforts? Surrounded by dark pine forest, the sinister residents of Snake River are suspicious of outsiders. Unfortunately, they also hold all the answers. On the shortest night of the year, Tuva must fight to save her friend. The only question is who will be there to save Tuva?

Praise for Will Dean:

'A complex plot, suffused with the nightmarish quality of Twin Peaks, and a tough-minded, resourceful protagonist add up to a stand-out read.' — The Guardian

'Dean effectively re-creates the frustration and discomfort of high summer in the forested hills... [Tuva] is becoming more credible with each novel in the series and Dean brings a refreshingly different voice and setting to the subgenre of “femjep” crime writing.’ — Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

‘Dean masterfully ramps up the tension and claustrophobia throughout the story’s sinister series of events before delivering an unexpected and satisfying finale.  Tuva is a wonderful creation and Dean’s series is not to be missed.’ — Daily Express

About Will Dean:

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

DARK PINES, the first in the Tuva Moodyson series, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2018, was shortlisted for Not the Booker prize, selected for Zoe Ball’s TV Book Club and named as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. THE LAST THING TO BURN, his first standalone novel, was published by Hodder earlier this year.

Follow Will on Twitter

Visit Will’s YouTube channel