On the Books: Prepare for another Alan Moore adaptation

– Alan Moore’s graphic novels have inspired some of the most memorable action flicks in recent years, including Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Now, Moore’s From Hell will get the small-screen treatment. FX has picked up a drama series based on the story, which chronicles Jack the Ripper’s exploits from the killer’s perspective.

Don Murphy will executive produce the series. It’s not the first time Murphy has been attached to From Hell—he produced 2001’s well-received film adaptation, which starred Johnny Depp and Robbie Coltrane. Sources say that Murphy always saw the story’s structure and plot as more conducive to TV, and that the recent explosion of high-quality dramas led him to push the project.

In the meantime, Moore’s graphic novel is worth revisiting. Moore released installments of the 572-page epic from 1989 to 1996, and included 46 pages of footnotes to add depth and historical detail to the plot. [Deadline]

– Moore can only hope that From Hell‘s adaptation receives the same praise as Game of Thrones. In the latest expansion of George R.R. Martin’s Thrones empire, HBO has inked a deal with Running Press to produce multiple books and mini kits inspired by the show. They’ll launch the partnership in April 2015 with In Memoriam, a short book about the characters who have died throughout the show. Running Press has also announced two mini kits (memorabilia collections) for the series: Game of Thrones: Stark Direwolf Kit and Game of Thrones: Hand of the King Wax Seal Kit. [Publishers Weekly]

– A massively influential activist and writer in the gay and transgender communities died Saturday. Trans woman Leslie Feinberg championed trans and lesbian issues, workers’ rights, and intersectionality. She advanced the Marxist concept of “transgender liberation,” and her final words were “Remember me as a revolutionary communist.”

Feinberg wasn’t just responsible for bolstering academic understanding and political organization surrounding these topics. Her 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues told the story of a working-class butch lesbian living in pre-Stonewall America who runs away from home and becomes a part of gay subculture. The book won the 1994 Stonewall Book Award, received multiple translations, and assimilated into mainstream literature at a time when few people were familiar with books about trans and lesbian issues. Feinberg was 65. [The Advocate]

– In September, suburban Dallas’ Highland Park Independent School District drew criticism when it suspended seven books—including Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon and Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha—from its high school curriculum. Now the school district has announced further literary restrictions. Going forward, students will need signed permission slips in order to read six titles, among them Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. [L.A. Times]

– We also have a Shelf Life reminder: Watch the National Book Awards tonight. The event will stream live online. Last year’s winners were James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird and George Packer’s The Unwinding.