After a fiercely fought auction, film/tv rights in Ros Anderson’s debut novel THE HIERARCHIES were acquired by SK Global and Mazur Kaplan, who will will co-produce with Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara under their LuckyChap Entertainment banner. The deal was negotiated on behalf of Ros Anderson by Conrad Williams of Blake Friedmann and Steve Fisher of APA Agency.
With a unique and compelling voice, THE HIERARCHIES is the diary of Sylv.ie, a synthetic woman designed to please and serve her human ‘Husband’ from the moment she comes to life. She lives in a single room at the top of his luxurious home, her existence barely tolerated by his human wife, and concealed from their child. Deeply curious about the world beyond her room, between the Husband’s visits Sylv.ie watches the family through her window, absorbing all she can. She keeps a diary, and through this learns that she cannot rely on her memories, or on what the Husband tells her. When she is taken to the ‘Doll Hospital’ it is not for her benefit, but to be altered. Sylv.ie needs to escape, but what will the world hold for her?
THE HIERARCHIES is a literary and speculative voice-driven novel that asks what it really means to be human. Set in a recognisable near future, and laced with dark, sly humour, THE HIERARCHIES is less about the fear of new technology than humans’ age-old talent for exploitation. From its outsider’s perspective, the novel explores notions of memory, consent, artifice, and ‘femininity’. It asks what it means to be ‘natural’ and celebrates the power of female friendship. Sometimes startling, often moving, and always unforgettable, readers will be gripped by THE HIERARCHIES from its very first page. It’s been described as perfect for fans of Never Let Me Go, I, Westworld, Ex Machina, Black Mirror and The Testaments.
THE HIERARCHIES was published by Dutton in North America in August 2020, and will be published by Dead Ink and Bolinda in the UK in June 2021.
Praise for THE HIERARCHIES:
“Fascinating…Anderson gracefully executes the process of Sylv.ie’s self-discovery, making her feel real and deeply sympathetic…Readers will be drawn in by Sylv.ie’s emotional story.” — Publisher’s Weekly
“In The Hierarchies, Anderson has constructed a novel that goes beyond common conversations about what we will do, and what will happen to us, if robot women come into being…It’s a shocking and eye-opening debut, one that has me looking at my coffee maker a little differently.” — Bitch Media
‘A quiet triumph…Anderson’s prose — Sylv.ie’s voice — offers a beautiful combination of naivete and wisdom, full of nonhuman puzzlements, off-kilter observations and limpid poetry.” — Paul Di Filippo, Washington Post