Fil-Am author's award-winning novel to be next Netflix film

A novel of Filipino-American author Erin Entrada Kelly would be adapted for a live action family film for streaming service Netflix.

Variety. com reported that the announcement was made on Wednesday. Entrada-Kelly also made the announcement through her Twitter account.

"I’m thrilled," she told GMA News Online.

"Not just because the book will be adapted to the screen, but because of the team behind it. Everyone involved in the adaptation is dedicated to bringing these diverse characters to life. It’s incredible to imagine that these four kids, who existed inside my imagination for so long, will exist in a whole other universe. Pun intended. :)"

HOLY ANNOUNCEMENT, BATMAN. #HelloUniverse #OMG https://t.co/WRvkTGBrc0

— Erin Entrada Kelly (@erinentrada) 22 May 2019

The movie adaptation of Kelly's "Hello, Universe," winner of the 2018 Newberry Award, would be a collaboration of Netflix and Oscar awardee Forest Whitaker.

Entrada-Kelly, whose mother hails from Cebu, has inculcated Cebuano culture and folklore into her novels. She was raised in Louisiana, but lives in Delaware, near Philadelphia.

According to her website, her other awards are the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, and the 2016 Golden Kite Honor Award for Blackbird Fly. A short fiction story was also nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. — BAP, GMA News