A Brief History of Seven Killings by JAMAICAN Marlon James goes to the box office...James said HBO officials reached out to his agent early this year and expressed interest in serialising his book. Oscar-winning writer Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) would be involved in the project.

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer senior writer  Sunday, May 10, 2015    

ON the evening of December 3 1976, gunmen pounced on the Hope Road home of reggae star Bob Marley. The singer, who was rehearsing with his band for the Smile Jamaica peace concert two days later, was among four persons shot and injured.

Marlon James was only five years old at the time but like many incidents that took place in the turbulent 1970s, the shooting has always fascinated him.

The cover of A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James.
At right: Novelist Marlon James (Photo: Jeffery Skemp)

It is the inspiration for his third book, A Brief History of Seven Killings which was released last year by Riverhead Books. Rights to the critically-acclaimed tome have been purchased by cable giant HBO for a potential series.

Production details have not yet been finalised but for James, it is a big deal.

"It's very significant. I came out of media in a way and am happy to be returning to it. Books aren't the only story I want to to tell and I have been fascinated with TV for years," he told the Sunday Observer. "It would also be great to tell complicated Jamaican stories for a change. I think we're too over-concerned with 'brand Jamaica', which can sometimes blind us to opportunities. So, instead of worry about whether a story about a murder would lead to people thinking murders happen in Jamaica, maybe focus on the world thinking Jamaica can be a place of complicated, sophisticated and irresistible stories," he added.

James said HBO officials reached out to his agent early this year and expressed interest in serialising his book. Oscar-winning writer Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) would be involved in the project.

While he is excited about the prospect of his work being shown by arguably the biggest cable channel in the world, James is not getting carried away.

"It's really still in the idea and planning stage. There are no guarantees in the film business, and while this is great news, it's equally possible that we may never shoot a single shot," he said.

Born in Kingston, James is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and Wilkes University in the United States. His previous books, The Book of Night Women and John Crow's Devil, were released in 2010. more