Anonymous Content has optioned the screen rights to the novel Cutting for Stone, which has been on the New York Times’ trade best seller list for a year, where it currently ranks No. 4.
The tome, written by physician and author Abraham Verghese, was published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Verghese is currently a senior associate chairman for the theory and practice of medicine at Stanford University.
Anonymous Content’s Rosalie Swedlin and Steve Golin will produce the film, about twin brothers born to an Indian nun and a British surgeon in a hospital in Ethiopia. The boys, Marion and Shiva Stone, are orphaned when their mother dies and their father disappears, and raised in Addis Ababa and New York City. They grow up to be fascinated with medicine, and the novel covers healing and miracles.
There are over one million copies of the book in print, including hardcover, paperback and e-book, as well as over 25 foreign editions throughout the world.
“Dr. Verghese’s wonderful novel evokes a world so vivid and populated which such rich characters, I knew I wanted to see it come alive on screen,” said Swedlin in a statement. “It’s an incredibly powerful story of family and survival, told in a unique, emotional and truly imaginative way.”
Added Golin, “We feel this book represents the kind of challenging and humanistic storytelling Anonymous aspires to produce.”
Literary agent Mary Evans of Mary Evans Inc., attorney David Colden, and UTA brokered the deal with Anonymous on behalf of Verghese.
