I’m still at ALA, and let me tell you that librarians rawk! We’re having a great time and meeting lots of excellent people. More about them later.

Because, of course, while I’m here away from computer and internet connections, The Big News has finally appeared!

From this week’s Variety:

As they prepare “Eragon” for a Dec. 15 release, 20th Century Fox and producer John Davis have bought into another young adult fantasy book series with “Uglies,” the Scott Westerfeld novel that hatches a trilogy.

Davis will produce with his wife, Jordan. Futuristic tale taps into teen angst over conformity and acceptance. Kids are called “Uglies” until they reach 16 and get surgically transformed into the attractive “Pretties,” who move to the glamorous part of town. A precocious teen is threatened with being denied the procedure unless she spies on a pal who skipped the operation and joined a rebellious group. Studio has bought the three-book series for a potential franchise. The second novel, “Pretties,” is near the top of the young adult bestseller lists; the IPG-repped Westerfeld’s third installment, “Specials,” was also released this year.

The producers were plugged into the tale by their daughter, who read the book in school. Studio has begun the search for a scribe to adapt.

Okay, actually, that’s only part of The Big News . . . more later, when I get back to my own computer!

Cool how the producers were clued into the books by their daughter. See? Word of mouth works!

Update: My agent has hard copy of the issue of Variety in hand, and it turns out the article was on page one. This is ego-boosting if nothing else.

For more discussion, the wheels are spinning here on westerboard.com.