Element Pictures has signed a deal for the film rights to author Ruth Fitzmaurice's forthcoming debut book I Found My Tribe.
The book is about her home life with her husband and five children. She is married to the director Simon Fitzmaurice, who has Motor Neurone Disease. They live in Wicklow with their five children who are all under 10 (Jack, Raife, Arden and twins Sadie and Hunter).
According to the publishers Chatto & Windus, the book focuses on “the magic of suffering, the healing power of the natural world and the brightness of life”. it will be published in June 2017.
Fitzmaurice got the book deal after writing several articles about her life for The Irish Times. The "tribe" of the book title refers to an outdoor swimming club in Ladies' Cove, Greystones which she joined and which has provided support and an outlet in her life.
Chatto & Windus bought the literary memoir within 24 hours of seeing a 25-page proposal, calling her a "stunning new writer". Speaking to this paper after after the articles were published, Fitzmaurice said: "Life got very strange very quickly and suddenly agents were emailing me about book deals. A wonderful lady called Sarah Williams from Sophie Hicks Agency in London spoke from the heart and stole mine." The film deal was brokered by Emily Hayward-Whitlock at The Artists Partnership on behalf of Sarah Williams at the Sophie Hicks Agency.
Element Pictures is one of Ireland's leading film production and distribution companies. Among its recent projects are: Lenny Abrahamson's Room, as well as most of that director's other projects; The Lobster , which won the Jury prize in Cannes; and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Its TV productions include TV3 show Red Rock and Charlie and Rebellion for RTÉ.
In a statement, Emma Norton at Element Pictures said: "Ruth's writing has the power to stop you in your tracks and make you look at the world differently. From the moment, we read her article in The Irish Times we were totally captivated by her voice and perspective on her life. We feel a deep responsibility towards adapting I Found My Tribe for screen and can't wait to start working with Ruth on it."
