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Can you smell what The Rock is... booking?

Based on what you've just read, it may surprise you to learn that Penguin Random House has not yet secured the rights for anything that I have written. Slightly less surprising, I guess, is that they have booked the publishing rights to a project co-written by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Probably just as unexpected as that - the book isn't an action romp, but a true crime story.

But the surprises don't end there.

Publisher's Weekly broke the news of PRH's acquisition of the book, through subsidiary Crown Publishing, on April 3, 2025. According to the report, the book was a collaborative effort between Johnson and journalist Nick Bilton, and will explore the life and crimes of Wilford 'Nappy' Pulawa, a midcentury mob boss and the only member of his profession with Hawaiin origins.

And as if the story doesn't enough celebrities attached, get this - the still-untitled book will serve as an inspiration for a movie directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, with a script by authors Johnson and Bilton. Interestingly, it's unclear at this point whether Johnson himself will feature in the cast, but PW does report that A-listers Emily Blunt and Leonardo DiCaprio are circling roles. 

Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe PRH is holding out on my novel because they don't have the right Oscar-winners involved in a possible script yet? Yeah, that's probably it.

More on this story as it develops. 

Just like yourself, the Popverse staff spends a whole lot of time with our respective noses in respective books. It's why we've come up with stuff like:

• The hottest upcoming fiction
• Queer romance to add to your reading list
• A reading guide to Cassandar Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles

...and a whole lot more. Join our metaphorical library, won't you? There are no late fees and you can be as loud as you want, so long as the people you live with are OK with it.