The MM Agency is ecstatic to finally announce that 2021’s most anticipated debut title, The Push (Penguin Random House) by Ashley Audrain,  is set to be adapted for the screen.

After an intense nine-way auction, the book has been optioned by Heyday Television. Producers David Heyman and Tom Winchester optioned the Film & TV rights in a deal brokered by Hayley Steed on behalf of Madeleine Milburn, and Ashley will serve as Executive Producer for the project.

The Push is a resonant, arresting literary suspense novel which broke industry records following its submission last year, selling  into 20 territories in under two weeks.  The plot, which has been compared to Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, surrounds new mother Blythe’s grapples with child-rearing and mental health, as she begins to fixate on her daughter Violet’s misbehaviour. To date, the book has been sold into an eye-watering 35 territories, and has received an endless stream of attention, with early readers certain that it will be a mammoth success. Most recently, Ashley celebrated its impending January release in virtual style, at the sold-out proof party hosted by Henley Literature Festival.

Heyday Television is a joint venture founded in 2015 by David Heyman with NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. David is the award-winning producer of Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood, Marriage Story and Gravity. Tom Winchester, who joined Heyday as president in 2018, produced the limited-series adaptation of Shogun, James Clavell’s bestseller, and was part of the team that developed and produced Academy Award-winning foreign-language feature film Tsotsi.

David Heyman said of The Push: “I cannot recall the last time I read a novel as haunting as The Push. It is challenging, moving and thought provoking in all the best ways.”

Madeleine Milburn confirmed: “We were exhilarated by Heyday’s creative vision for The Push from day one, and are over the moon that it will be making its way to the screen.”

Ashley Audrain added: “I am absolutely thrilled to put The Push into the hands of the team at Heyday, who have incredible passion for the novel and its potential to move a screen audience in a meaningful way.”

Ashley Audrain previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada. Prior to Penguin, she worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. The Push is her first novel.

The Push is a mesmeric read which lends itself effortlessly to television – we can’t wait to share more about this exciting new development.