21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Book ‘in very good hands' for adaptation
Dunedin author and University of Otago Stuart Professor of Scottish studies Liam McIlvanney's latest book The Good Father may soon be turned into a television series. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
What could be worse than your child disappearing?
It is a recurring question in Dunedin author Liam McIlvanney's latest book The Good Father, and one that has lured a Bafta award-winning television production company to secure the screen rights to the thriller.
The University of Otago Stuart Professor of Scottish studies said he was delighted his book had been optioned by Glasgow-based production company Synchronicity Films.
"I'm a big fan of their work.
"Their recent production of Andrew O'Hagan's Mayflies was superb.
"They have also adapted The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Kiwi novelist Heather Morris and did a brilliant job there.
"My book is in very good hands. They are good people as well as top professionals, so I'm thrilled to be working with them."
Prof McIlvanney said it was the second time one of his novels had been optioned by a production company.
His third novel The Quaker was also optioned in 2018, but it had not yet been translated for screen.
The Good Father was about a couple who live an idyllic life in the seaside village of Fairlie, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland.
The beachside village of Fairlie, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Billed as "gripping and emotionally charged", the story explores the devastating impact of trauma, family secrets and community suspicion when the couple's 7-year-old child goes missing from the beach outside the family's home.
"The novel takes a deep emotional dive into the aftermath of the disappearance, and then a couple of dramatic twists lead the father down a path he could barely have imagined at the story's outset."
It twists and flits around the question: what could be worse than your child disappearing?
"The book has a pretty clear structure and some strong characters, and the setting is pretty photogenic, so I think it will translate well to screen," he said.
Despite being the author of the book, he would have very little to do with the production itself.
"I'm very happy to leave it to the professionals.
"Jacquelin Perske is a phenomenal screenwriter and I'm really excited to see what she does with the novel and where she takes it with her own artistic vision."
Synchronicity Films founder and creative director Claire Mundell said the company loved "a brilliant thriller" and Prof McIlvanney's novel "hooked" them from page one.
"He's the Scottish Stephen King.
"The Good Father is deeply suspenseful and propulsive, whilst asking complex moral and emotional questions: qualities that align perfectly with Synchronicity's passion for adapting bold, compelling and emotionally resonant stories."
Prof McIlvanney was a little uncomfortable with the reference to him being "the Scottish Stephen King".
"I take that with a pinch of salt.
"I don't think I can really claim any comparison with the great Stephen King.
"We both write books and we both have an 'i' in our surnames, but that's about it."
As for when he thought the production might hit our television screens, he said he had no idea.
"That's above my pay grade."
