Pop culture news for readers: October 16, 2026

Here's how pop culture and literature have been intersecting lately ... 

Movies

• Percy Jackson actor Walker Scobell recently revealed that author Rick Riordan often shares early drafts of his books with him (People).

• The film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Klara and the Sun premieres soon, and to celebrate, ten Klara-themed Little Free Libraries, each containing books including the novel, will go up around the US (People). 

• Hye-young Pyun’s 2016 bestselling novel The Hole will be made into a movie starring Theo James, Hoyeon, Yeom Hye-ran, and Christian Slater (The Hollywood Reporter).

• Production on a film version of David D. Magee’s memoir Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss is underway (Deadline).

• Actor Ron Perlman will star as Papa in an upcoming Ernest Hemingway biopic (Deadline).

• Sara Coven’s award-winning middle-grade novel The One We Left Behind has been optioned to become a feature film (The Hollywood Reporter).

TV

• Amazon's TV adaptation of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros will star Esther McGregor as Violet Sorrengail and Emilio Sakraya as Xaden Riorson (Variety).

• Reading Rainbow star Mychal Threets, who came to fame as the online personality Mychal the Librarian, has made some worrying posts about his mental health (People).

• Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen is being adapted into a limited series (The Hollywood Reporter).

Other

• The Brooklyn store at the center of the Kelly Clarkson shopping drama is co-owned by Adam Rubin, author of the hit children's book Dragons Love Tacos (People).

• The Baby-sitters Club: A New Musical, based on Ann M. Martin’s book series, will open May 16 in Los Angeles; the producing team includes actress Natalie Portman's production company (Deadline).