‘Where The Crawdads Sing’: David Strathairn Joins Film Adaptation For 3000 Pictures, Hello Sunshine And Sony

“Oscar nominated actor David Strathairn will join Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson in 3000 Pictures and Hello Sunshine’s film adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing, based on Delia Owens’ best-selling novel. Set up at Sony, the film is being directed by Olivia Newman from a screenplay written by Oscar-nominated scribe Lucy Alibar.”

Justin Kroll, ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’: David Strathairn Joins Film Adaptation For 3000 Pictures, Hello Sunshine And Sony,” DEADLINE, March 17, 2021 .

“This lush debut about an isolated girl who finds education and solace in nature is already a US bestseller.… Though set in the 1950s and 60s, Where the Crawdads Sing is, in its treatment of racial and social division and the fragile complex-ities of nature, obviously relevant to contemporary politics and ecology. But these themes will reach a huge audience though the writer’s old-fashioned talents for compelling character, plotting and landscape description.”

— Mark Lawson, The Guardian

CRAWDADS landed in the UK with a great review in the Guardian. Thank you and welcome to UK readers!

Mark Lawson, “Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens review,”  The Guardian, January 12, 2019.

“The title of Delia Owens’ debut novel, ‘Where the Crawdads Sing,’ refers to a place ‘far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.’ Indeed, the untamed North Carolina marshland setting is not merely a backdrop for the remarkable story that unfolds, but it shares center stage with the unforgettable protagonist, Kya.
…
The beautifully executed tale offers a reminder that despite all of society’s material trappings, humans ultimately mimic the survivalist and carnal behavior of animals. Owens paints such a vivid picture of life on the periphery of civilization’s reach that the reader will undoubtedly gain a newfound appreciation for the marsh, an environment ‘where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky.’”

Becca J. G. Godwin, “‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ pits natural beauty vs. human ugliness in a Carolina marsh living,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 29, 2018.

“Two very different works of fiction lead off this week’s list of recommended books.… Delia Owens’s debut murder mystery “Where the Crawdads Sing” … is deeply rooted in its specific world: the North Carolina marshlands. ”

The New York Times recommends CRAWDADS as one of two fiction books for the week!

“Editors’ Choice: 7 New Books We Recommend This Week,” New York Times, August 23, 2018.

“The wildlife scientist Delia Owens has found her voice in WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature. The [co-author] … of three books about southern Africa, Owens here surveys the desolate marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child. And in her isolation that child makes us open our own eyes to the secret wonders — and dangers — of her private world.”

— Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times

I'm so honored by the reviews CRAWDADS is receiving, especially this from the The New York Times!

Marilyn Stasio, "From a Marsh to a Mountain, Crime Fiction Heads Outdoors," The New York Times, August 17, 2018.

 People Magazine has selected Where the Crawdads Sing as the Book of the Week in their print edition. Thank you to the editors for this honor.

“Owens’s familiar, detailed descriptions set the scene for Where the Crawdads Sing…. Through Kya’s story, Owens explores how isolation affects human behavior, and the deep effect that rejection can have on our lives.”

— Julia Vitale, Vanity Fair

Julia Vitale, "Carry These New Books with You Wherever You Go," Vanity Fair, July 9, 2018.

“The New Southern Novel

The lyrical debut novel of writer Delia Owens (who grew up among the pines in Thomasville, Georgia, and has since traveled the globe) is a mystery steeped in the natural world. It follows a young girl named Kya Clark, who is abandoned in the marshes along the North Carolina coast and learns to survive there on her own until outside forces encroach.”

— Southern Living

Calling CRAWDADS "the new southern novel," Southern Living has included it in their list of "6 Books All Your Friends Are Reading" for August. Thank you, Southern Living!

“Delia Owen’s gorgeous novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, is both a coming-of-age tale and an engrossing whodunit.”

— Nora Horvath, "The Short List," Real Simple

Real Simple is featuring CRAWDADS in “The Short List: Five Books that Won't Disappoint” in the August issue. Online, CRAWDADS appears in RealSimple's “Best Books of 2018 (So Far).”

“In Owens’s evocative debut, Kya Clark is a young woman growing up practically on her own in the wild marshes [of] North Carolina.… The novel culminates in a long trial, with Kya’s fate hanging in the balance. Kya makes for an unforgettable heroine. Owens memorably depicts the small-town drama and courtroom theatrics, but perhaps best of all is her vivid portrayal of the singular North Carolina setting. ”

"Fiction Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing," Publisher's Weekly, June 18, 2018.