New Harry, Says Telegraph

The new Harry Potter? Yeah: that’s gonna happen. The Telegraph has the latest contender:

Two British authors behind a publishing phenomenon that could take over from Harry Potter have landed a million-dollar Hollywood film contract.

Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, has been snapped up by the film investment company behind 3.10 to Yuma, starring Russell Crowe, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

OK so, yeah yeah: we know you don’t get to be first by following along. The best I’m hoping for here is “not stinky.” (But don’t let my cynicism cloud the issue.) Although the premise does sound pretty cool:

Now the co-authors are looking forward to seeing a big-budget version of their novel, which follows the adventures of Will Burrows, a 10-year-old boy who finds a secret world in a series of tunnels beneath the garden of his suburban London home.

However, self-publishers will want to sit up and take notice:

A couple of years ago the pair, who have been friends since college days, remained unpublished. They started in 2005 by self-publishing 2,500 copies and hawking them around booksellers.

Last year The Daily Telegraph exclusively published extracts from Tunnels just before it hit the bookstands.

But now they have earned £500,000 in advance royalties, with in excess of $1 million (£500,000) to come from the movie deal once filming starts.

And sometimes we wonder why people self-publish? That’s why: the big successes are rare, but they’re just so bloody dramatic.

Anyway, it’s a fun story, and it’s here.