The Books You Need To Read ASAP Before They Hit Our Screens

Depicting modern British life from the perspective of 12 different individuals - most of whom are black women - this Booker Prize winner was one of the highest-selling releases of 2019. Gail Egan and Andrea Calderwood's UK production company Potboiler Television won the rights the this best-seller and are said to be 'delighted to be working with Bernardine on bringing this vibrant and joyous novel to the screen.'It is a vivid and authentic as well as important story of our times,' they said. Details about when the adaption will air are yet to be known, but you'll definitely want to read the critically-acclaimed novel for yourself first.

Rooneyhas had huge success with her novel Normal People. The TV adaption of this book is set to have 12 episodes and air on BBC Three and Hulu at some point in 2020. Set in Ireland during the economic downturn on the noughties, the story follows the complicated relationship of Connell and Marianne throughout their schooling and university education.

The man who adapted Les Miserables for the small screen - Andrew Davies - is now bringing us the epic A Suitable Boy, condensed into six episodes for a new BBC1 period drama. This classic novel is set in India in the 1950s and follows the lives of four families as the country prepares for a political election during its new found independence. Expect it in June 2020.

The book is being adapted by Hulu for a TV series starring Jeff Bridges later this year. The premise of this thriller novel is that a former CIA officer (Bridges), who now lives off the grid, is forced to confront his past when an assassin tries to murder him.

Don't miss Colin Farrell playing Henry Drax in BBC Two's four-part mini-series adaptation of McGuire's novel this year. Drax, an amoral, murderous whale harpooner, sets sail with Patrick Summer (Jack O'Connell) on an ill-fated journey to the Arctic. Read the book before the series comes out to find out what happens on the water!

The adaption of Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses premieres on 5 March 2020 on BBC One. The novel is set in an alternative history where black people (crosses) rule over white people (noughts). The TV adaptation focuses on the core themes of the book: prejudice, racism and forbidden romance.

Conversations with Friends by Rooney has also been picked up by the BBC and will be made into a 12-part series. This story humorously comments on the bitter reality of relationships and friendships, told through the perspective of four main characters.

This arresting novel is poised to set your screens alight in March. The show is based on the novel by Celest Ng that delves into the life of a free-spirited single mother who moves to Ohio with her daughter. The story revolves around the challenges they encounter when their lives entwine with a middle-class family in the neighbourhood.

An adaptation of Eleanor Catton's novel The Luminaries is set to air later this year on BBC Two. The story is set in the nineteeth century gold rush in New Zealand and focuses on the character Anna Wetherell, who sails to New Zealand to begin a new life and is quickly drawn into a tale of love, murder and revenge. It will star Eva Green and Himesh Patel.

Little Birds is a collection of short, erotic stories from Anais Nin. The stories have been adapted by Sky Atlantic into a dramatic television series that stars Juno Temple. The infamous tales confront a selection of topics and themes and weave together stories of love, desire and politics.

Ridley Road will air as a four-part thriller on BBC One, but the release date is still TBC. The series is based on Bloom's novel of the same name and is set in 1960s London. The story focuses on the life of Vivien Epstein who is forced into undercover espionage when she follows her lover into danger.