Samantha Shannon on Adapting Her Work: "I Imagine *The Bone Season* as a Video Game"

It's always inspiring to discuss with someone who has a clear vision of the world and is willing to talk about it with passion. Samantha Shannon is undoubtedly one of those people, even if the universes she most enjoys talking about are those that have sprung from her imagination to find their way under her pen and onto the pages of her novels.

An early writer, she published *The Bone Season* at the age of 19, and since then, she has continued this series while also starting another with *The Priory of the Orange Tree*, an epic fantasy that has recently been enriched with prequels: first with *A Day of Fallen Night*, and then, earlier this year, with *Among the Burning Flowers*. We had the opportunity to speak with her face-to-face about all these works and much more at the 15th Celsius Festival in Avilés (Asturias, Spain), in a full interview, the transcript of which you will find below.

When you read Shannon's novels, one thought keeps coming back from the very first pages and descriptions: as a reader, you think it would be "simple" to adapt these stories to the screen. To dispel any doubt, we asked her directly if she had ever thought about it, and if she had a favorite story she would like to see adapted. Here's what she told us:

“I would like *Priory of the Orange Tree* to be adapted. I don’t think it will happen. The reason is that *Game of Thrones* came out not too long ago. And then there are dragons. And then *Fourth Wing* is also being adapted. So, I think there will probably be a slight oversaturation of dragons by then. Well, maybe it will happen later.”

“I also think it would be very, very expensive. If you think about the number of dragons in *Game of Thrones*, there were like three. In *Priory of the Orange Tree*, there are a ton of dragons.”

Even if budget would be a major obstacle, Shannon thinks that in reality, the biggest hurdle to adapting her work for the big screen is rather ideological.

“And then, to be cynical, I say this as a gay woman. I don’t think Hollywood is ready to risk that much money on a film with gay main characters. I’m just not convinced that the industry is as progressive as this stage. So, again, maybe in the future.”

“I’m not saying I don’t think it will ever happen, but I think right now, the climate is a bit difficult, in my opinion, for openly LGBTQ representation. Again, maybe on TV, but certainly not at the cinema, I don’t think, for now.”

On the other hand, she sees potential for bringing her stories to life in another format: video games, and she admits to being a passionate gamer.

“I’ve been playing video games since I was little and used to sit on my dad’s lap to watch him play Tomb Raider, and I’ve always loved it. And I can absolutely imagine *The Bone Season* as a video game. I have ideas on how the magic system could be integrated into a game and all the different mechanics we could use. So I think it would be really great.”

You can find the full interview with Samantha Shannon above, where she also talks about rereading her own works, her relationship with her fans, and *The Moth Reborn*, her new book due out in 2027.