Australia’s ABC has committed to the development of acclaimed Australian novel, The Secret River, by author Kate Grenville, as a television mini-series. The novel won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2006 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in the same year. Through the deeply personal story of a young couple, William and Sal Thornhill, The Secret River dramatises the colonisation of Australia and the escalating conflict between the original Indigenous inhabitants and the newly arrived white settlers.

The project has been developed by producers, Stephen Luby and Mark Ruse of Ruby Entertainment, Oscar nominee screenwriter Jan Sardi, and acclaimed director Fred Schepisi. The book will be adapted into a television mini-series by Sardi with Mac Gudgeon.

“The Secret River is a profound and moving story that has captivated its readers. It’s wonderful that ABC TV can help bring such an iconic, landmark novel to a broader Australian audience,” said Carole Sklan, Head of ABC TV Fiction.