'Wither'
Lauren DeStefano's dystopian sci-fi fantasy "Wither" is headed for the bigscreen, as Prospect Park and Violet House Prods. have acquired feature rights to the first book in a planned trilogy.
Producers are Jeff Kwatinetz and Rob Carliner through their Prospect Park banner and Aly and AJ Michalka via their Violet House shingle.
"Wither," the first of three novels in first-time writer DeStefano's "The Chemical Garden" trilogy, was released in March by Simon & Shuster and topped the Barnes & Noble and Publishers Weekly's young adult bestseller lists.
Story is set in a future where the world's in a state of panic due to a failed effort to create a perfect race that's left women with a lifespan of 20 years while men die at 25.
The book series follows a kidnapped girl and her attempt to escape from a forced polygamous marriage designed to keep the population from dying out. The second book, "Fever," is due out next year.
Prospect Park was a producer with Scott Free on "Unstoppable."
DeStefano is repped by APA and the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com