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School bullying memoir ‘Bad Behaviour’ optioned for TV

TV rights to Rebecca Starford’s debut memoir Bad Behaviour: A Memoir of Bullying and Boarding School (A&U) have been optioned by director Pip Karmel and Amanda Higgs, co-creator and producer of The Secret Life of Us and The Time of Our Lives, via Curtis Brown at auction.

Karmel, who became aware of the book through an interview with the author on [ABC Radio National program] Life Matters, told Books+Publishing that reading Starford’s memoir confirmed her ‘hunch’ about its potential for adaptation to the screen: ‘[it] was dramatic, human and compelling, as well as uniquely visual in its setting.’

Starford will be involved in a consultancy role on the project. ‘It was important to us that Rebecca and we were on the same page, so to speak, about the potential of the material,’ said Karmel. ‘We’re really excited to get started on the development process.’

Bad Behaviour recounts Starford’s experiences with bullying at an elite country boarding school. It was published by A&U in late February 2015.

 

Category: Local news