And yet another surprise from Macmillan, this time from their Hill and Wang imprint:

Hyman, Miles
SHIRLEY JACKSON’S “THE LOTTERY”
A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION
Fiction , October 2016 (proposal available)

Shirley Jackson’s short story THE LOTTERY is a classic of American literature that continues to thrill and unsettle readers nearly seven decades after it was first published. By turns puzzling and harrowing, THE LOTTERY raises troubling questions about conformity, tradition, and the specter of ritualized violence that haunts even the most bucolic, peaceful village. This graphic adaptation, published just in time for Jackson’s centennial, will allow readers to experience THE LOTTERY as never before, or discover it anew. Visual artist—and Jackson’s grandson—Miles Hyman has crafted a haunting vision of the nameless hamlet where the tale unfolds, its inhabitants, and the unforgettable ritual they calmly set into motion. Perfectly timed to the current resurgence of interest in Jackson and her work, THE LOTTERY: A Graphic Adaptation masterfully reimagines her iconic story in this striking visual narrative.

Miles Hyman is a visual artist who specializes in graphic novels and adaptations of classic literature. His work has been shown in galleries around the world and has appeared in publications such as the New Yorker , The New York Times , and GQ. Based in Paris but born in Bennington, Vermont, he is the grandson of Shirley Jackson.

All rights: FSG

[Quoted from the FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS GUIDE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2015]

Miles Hyman’s website is here. He has an extensive graphic novel/BD portfolio, creating titles since 1987. His style? Quite unusual, by American graphic novel standards, but very evocative. Scanning his online samples, he seems adept at everything, no matter the subject matter or historical setting.

Miles Hyman Saint MarksThis is not Mr. Hyman’s first adaptation, as he provided the illustrations to the graphic novel adaptation of James Ellroy’s Black Dahlia! (Hachette owns the American publication rights to that novel.) Also:

  • Manhattan Transfer, by John Dos Passos
  • Joseph Conrad’s Secret Agent
  • Savage Night by Jim Thompson
  • Philippe Djian’s Lorsque Lou

UPDATE: This is not his first collaboration with his grandmother, as he illustrated Shirley Jackson’s children’s book (!!) 9 Magic Wishes in 2001.

I hope this title is successful, as I would love to see more of Mr. Hyman’s work published here. But this is just the antechamber to a treasure trove of amazing French graphic novels slowly gaining notoriety in the United States!


 

3 COMMENTS

  1. If you want to read a short story almost as good as “The Lottery”, try “”One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts”.

  2. Not to nitpick the headline or anything, but “The Lottery” is NOT a “graphic” short story — except for one sentence near the end (the simple “A stone hit her in the side of the head”) there’s no violence depicted; it’s all in the mind of the reader. That’s where the power of the story comes from, and why it’s going to be a challenge to do a visual version of it.

  3. Yes, indeed. “The Lottery” has been a play, a movie, a ballet, and now a graphic novel, illustrated by Shirley Jackson’s own grandson. The family is looking forward to seeing it, but everything Miles does is great.

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