14-03-2025
West Virginia authors who had their books turned into movies
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — Despite its size, West Virginia has its fair share of bestselling authors, but only a small handful of them have been lucky enough to see their books adapted to the big screen.
That being said, there might be more than you think: at least eight movies have been released that were adapted from books written by a West Virginia author, along with one Netflix television series.
Homer Hickam, who is from Coalwood, West Virginia in McDowell County, said on his website that the original story about his dream to become a rocket scientist started out as an article in Air & Space Magazine in 1994, but was later expanded upon into a full-length book.
Easily the most well-known movie on this list, 'October Sky' is an adaptation of Hickam's novel 'Rocket Boys,' published in 1998, with the movie premiering only five months later in February of 1999, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing the role of Homer Hickam.
In 2021, 12 News was able to speak with Hickam during a visit to a Mountaineer Middle School, who said the state prepared him for life in many ways, and the obstacles he overcame living in West Virginia were a vital part of that preparation.
'My message is that it's great to be a West Virginian. You've got advantages that you don't even know about. You had to overcome obstacles your whole life and that's going to help you out throughout life,' Hickam said during the interview. 'I just want young people to be proud of who they are and recognize what a great state that they're from, and you're gonna go out there in the world full of common sense and knowing you can overcome obstacles.'
You can watch 12 News' 2021 interview with Hickam below.
Coincidentally, there is also an Indian television series also called 'Rocket Boys,' but the story is unrelated to Hickam's book and covers the events that led to India becoming a nuclear power.
Going from the most famous adaptation to the most recent, Edward Ashton's book 'Mickey 7' was recently adapted as 'Mickey 17' and hit theaters on March 7, 2025, three years after the book was first published in February 2022.
Ashton, who grew up in Fairmont, said in a recent interview with 12 News that he was 'really glad to be able to call [himself] a West Virginian,' and was heavily influenced by two of his English teachers at Fairmont Senior High School.
The movie itself stars multiple copies of Robert Pattinson, who is perhaps best known for his roles in Twilight, Harry Potter and The Batman. The film was directed by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, whose previous movies include Parasite and Snowpiercer (2013).
The first book written by a West Virginia author to be adapted into a movie was written by Davis Grubb, a Moundsville native.
'The Night of the Hunter,' was published in 1953 and adapted into a movie just two years later. The book follows the actions of Henry Powell, who is based on the real West Virginia serial killer, Harry Powers. Powers, also known as the 'Lonely Hearts Killer' or 'West Virginia Bluebeard,' would assume false identities and form relationships with widows before inevitably killing them after they had withdrawn money from their own bank accounts. Powers killed at least five women this way.
West Virginia's serial killers and how they were caught
'The Night of the Hunter' was also adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1991, with Grubb credited as one of the writers on the production and Richard Chamberlain cast in the role of Harry Powers.
Grubb's 1969 book 'Fools' Parade' was also adapted into a movie.
Starring Jimmy Stewart and featuring Kurt Russell, George Kennedy and Anne Baxter, 'Fools' Parade' follows a crew of recently released inmates who are attempting to cash in on their prison savings while simultaneously being pursued for the money by a corrupt prison guard.
Starring William Dafoe, Danny Glover, Brad Johnson and Rosanna Arquette, 'Flight of the Intruder' by Stephen Coonts tells the story of American naval pilot Jake Grafton during the Vietnam War.
According to his website, Coonts was born in Buckhannon in 1946 and attended West Virginia University before joining the U.S. Navy. 'Flight of the Intruder' was his first novel and was published by the Naval Institute Press in 1986, getting adapted to the big screen five years later.
Carlene Thompson was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and although she has lived in many states during her life, she has returned to live in Point Pleasant on more than one occasion.
'Noir Comme Le Souvenir' is a French film adaptation of her first book 'Black For Remembrance' a mystery and suspense novel. According to Thompson's biography page on her website, Thompson's favorite kinds of stories to write are 'book-length psychological mysteries with a bit of romance,' and has written 19 books between 1991 and 2022.
Thompson's 1995 book 'The Way You Look Tonight' was adapted to film in 2014 by a French filmmaker named Jean-Pierre Mocky, the same person who adapted her first book 'Black For Remembrance' almost 20 years earlier.
Mocky has his own website dedicated to his extensive work in the French film industry that even has some on-set photos and recordings from the production of 'Tu Es Si Joli Ce Soir.'
Perhaps the most poignant movie on this list is the documentary adaptation of John Temple's 'American Pain,' a book that deeply explores the causes and effects of the opioid crisis that continues to impact the lives of thousands of West Virginians and many more people nationwide.
Although not currently living in West Virginia, Temple lived in Morgantown for many years and worked as a professor at West Virginia University when 'American Pain' was published in 2015.
Although not technically a movie, Craig Johnson's long-running 'Longmire' book series has been adapted to television for a total of six seasons and can currently be watched on Paramount+.
Although he currently lives in Wyoming, Johnson is originally from Huntington and continues to write books in his 'Longmire Mystery' series, which currently has more than 20 books in total. His latest entry 'Return to Sender,' is expected to release on May 27, 2025.
If you know of any books written by West Virginia authors that have been adapted to the screen and don't see them on this list, you can email the author of this article at sgorski2@
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