bookmarked: book news dispatch #3

trespasses tv adaptation, the nobel prize for literature, & a stamp for 'human written' books

Welcome to bookmarked #3 - your go-to for the latest bookish news from the literary world.

Book To Screen: upcoming book adaptations

Channel 4’s adaptation of ‘Trespasses’ coming later this year

Louise Kennedy’s 2022 novel Trespasses (which was shortlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction) is being adapted into a TV series by Channel 4, due to be released later this year.

Set in 1970s Northern Ireland during The Troubles, the story follows Cushla, a young Catholic teacher/barmaid (played by Lola Petticrew) and her forbidden love affair with Michael, a married Protestant barrister (played by Tom Cullen). It will also star Gillian Anderson as Cushla’s sharp, alcoholic mother Gina, and is being adapted for the screen by Ailbhe Keogan (a writer on Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters).

You can watch the teaser trailer for the series here.

Lit Talk: the latest from the book world

Hungarian author wins Nobel Prize for Literature 2025

Last week, the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to László Krasznahorkai for his ‘compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art’.

Krasznahorkai is known for his ‘difficult and demanding postmodern’ novels, which often include themes of melancholic dystopia. I personally haven’t read any of his work, so if you have, let me know where to start!

A stamp for human-written books

In response to AI slop increasingly seeping into the book world, a UK start-up is launching an ‘Organic Literature’ certification to verify and label human-written works. The project will involve stamps being placed on books to verify they’ve been written by a human, not AI, similar to the ‘Human Written’ stamp which Faber placed on Sarah Hall’s 2025 novel Helm.

Books By People have initially partnered with a small group of independent publishing houses, with plans to expand globally in 2026.

2025 Booker Prize shortlist announced

The shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize was announced at the end of September, which features 3 authors shortlisted for the first time and a previous Booker Prize winner. The shortlisted titles are Flashlight, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Audition, The Rest of Our Lives, The Land in Winter, and Flesh

I’m mainly including this item because much to my surprise, I have now finished reading the entire 2025 Booker Prize longlist (!!) – so a post all about that will be coming soon.

Release Radar: upcoming book releases

• Book of Lives - Margaret Atwood (4 Nov) – A memoir (of sorts) by Maragret Atwood, where she unfolds the story of her life, linking key moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape.

• The Dinner Party - Viola van de Sandt (4 Nov) - Franca organises and hosts a dinner party where everything she once was and everything she now is comes together and she feels like she might implode.

• Chosen Family - Madeleine Grey (29 Jan) - a queer literary novel about the lifelong, intense friendship between two women, Nell and Eve.

Thanks for reading this edition of bookmarked!