Director Shyamaprasad is set to adapt award-winning author Anees Salim’s novel The Small Town Sea for the big screen.

The news comes on the heels of the recent announcements of other book-to-screen adaptations currently in development, notably Manu S Pillai’s The Ivory Throne, the rights of which have been acquired by Arka Mediaworks, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Netflix.

Shyamaprasad informs us that he will start working on the screenplay soon with a plan to start filming within this year. On what drew him to the book, the director says, “It’s a beautiful story about growing up, loneliness, and the existential dilemmas that we all go through. It’s told from the point of view of a child, and I’ve always been a sucker for child-centric stories. It’s one of the reasons why I loved Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali so much. This book evoked a lot of memories and I found it a very delightful experience.”

A native of Varkala, Kerala, Anees has also penned the books, The Vicks Mango Tree (2012), Tales From A Vending Machine (2013), Vanity Bagh (2013), and The Blind Lady’s Descendents (2014).

Shyamaprasad recently won a state award for best director for his new film Oru Njyarazcha (A Sunday). A release date for the film, which features newcomers, has not been announced yet. His last film was Hey Jude, starring Nivin Pauly and Trisha.