Isabel J. Kim’s debut novel, Sublimation, has been picked up by Universal International Studios for a potential television adaptation. The book has yet to be released, though Tor Publishing Group has acquired the novel as part of a three-book deal with Kim.
Kim is a Shirley Jackson Award-winner who has written several acclaimed stories, including “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole,” which ran in the February 2024 issue of Clarkesworld.
Sublimation is her first novel, and here is the official synopsis for it:
Sublimation is a literary science fiction novel and speculative thriller set in a version of our world where a process called “instancing” splits a person into two distinct copies when they cross a country’s border. The story unfolds when a woman who instanced returns to Seoul and must face her other self, while her childhood best friend’s New York self draws her into a conspiracy to control the future of instancing, bringing both versions of him back into her life with global repercussions.
In a statement, Kim described her book as “originally based on one of my 20 short stories. Steven Salpeter, my manager, had originally reached out to me because he had read the short story Sublimation is based on—Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self—because there was a visual quality to the narrative and concept he thought would translate to TV. Our discussion led to my expanding the original short story into a novel, and we’re also hearing from studios about my stories for features.”
“From the very first page, you feel drawn to these characters and this world that explores such rich themes through this paradoxical existence that Isabel has captured so sublimely,” Kelsey Balance, SVP, Global Scripted Series, Universal International Studios told Deadline. “It’s staggering that this is her first novel as it’s so compelling but also so fresh and creative. We can’t wait to bring her vision to audiences around the globe.”
The project is still in its early days, so no news on if/when the adaptation will make its way to the small screen.
