Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures and China’s Wanda Media have acquired Chinese adaptation rights to “Miracles of the Namiya General Store,” a best-selling novel by Japan’s Keigo Higashino.
The book was published in 2012 and won Japan’s prestigious Chuo Koron Literary Prize. Its Chinese translation is one of Amazon China’s top 10 best-selling novels and has sold over 1.6 million copies to date.
The novel tells the story of three delinquents who are hiding from the law in a derelict dime store when a letter from the past, seeking advice, mysteriously slips through the mail slot. They decide to respond and are able to help those in need.
Rights were acquired from Japan’s Kadokawa and cover possible film and TV versions.
Production is scheduled to begin next year for a 2017 release. No cast or directing talent has yet been announced.
Higashino is a prolific and much decorated novelist who largely writes mystery drama and children’s fiction. Few of his woks have been translated into English – the best known are detective story “The Devotion of Suspect X” and “Journey Under The Midnight Sun.”
Many of his books have been adapted for film and TV in Japan (“Suspect X,” “The Lakeside Murder case”) and Korea (“White Night,” “Perfect Number”.)
" 'Miracles of the Namiya General Store’ is unquestionably one of his best loved works,” said EMP CEO Albert Lee ina statement. “’Namiya’ is already an enormously popular book in China and we are confident that its screen adaptation will bring the magic of Mr. Higashino’s prose to life for many of his fans,” said Wanda Media GM Gillian Zhao.