Audrey Niffenegger is putting her dancing shoes on. The bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife has scored an unusual tie-in for her forthcoming work, Raven Girl, involving London's Royal Ballet.
The novella, which Niffenegger's agency described as a "fairy tale for adults," will be published in the U.S. by Abrams's ComicArts imprint, and the U.K., by Jonathan Cape, in May. Accompanying the British publication, though, will be a performance by the Covent Garden-based company, which will be creating a ballet based on the book.
Niffenegger's agent, Markus Hoffmann, at Regal Literary, negotiated the deal with his colleague, Lauren Pearson. Hoffmann said the ballet will be a "retelling" of the novel, and that the staging and costumes will "reflect [Niffenegger's] illustrations."
Hoffmann said the deal came about after the Royal Ballet had expressed interested in Niffenegger's work. He said the troupe was "familiar with" Niffenegger's The Adventuress and The Three Incestuous Sisters, which he described as "novels-in-pictures. When the group got word about The Raven Girl, and Niffenegger explained the idea behind it, Hoffman said "they fell in love with it."
