Dreams of writing no longer a footnote

WHEN Liane Moriarty was in primary school she was asked to write an answer to the standard question: what do you want to be when you grow up?

The work of Liane Moriarty, at her Sydney home yesterday, has caught the attention of Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Picture: Attila Szilvasi

WHEN Liane Moriarty was in primary school she was asked to write an answer to the standard question: what do you want to be when you grow up?

Fearing she should say something sensible rather than the truth, she wrote “I want to be a teacher”, then added an asterisk which led to a line at the bottom of the page: “Actually I want to be a writer.” If only that eight-year-old girl knew then what she knows now, she might have had more confidence in realising her dream.

Not only is the Sydney writer now the best-selling author of six novels but Nicole Kidman was so impressed with Moriarty’s latest book, Big Little Lies, she has ­optioned the rights to the screen adaptation, in conjunction with Reese Witherspoon. Kidman and Witherspoon, both Academy Award-winning actresses, have the option of both starring in and ­producing the film through their respective production companies, Blossom Films and Pacific ­Standard.

Moriarty met Kidman when she was in Australia this year to discuss the adaptation. “I loved everything she had to say about her plans for the project,” she said. “I think they’re both amazing ­actors so it makes me deliriously happy to imagine them playing the characters.”

Released last month, Big Little Lies is a darkly comic novel set in a suburban Sydney school that tells the tale of three kindergarten mothers whose seemingly perfect lives spiral out of control following a shocking event at the school trivia night.

Big Little Lies is Moriarty’s third novel to be optioned for the big screen. It was recently ­announced that The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel would direct her third book, What Alice Forgot; while CBS Films has the option on The Husband’s ­Secret. Moriarty may be the hot name in Hollywood but readers have been loyal fans for some time. The Husband’s Secret hit No 1 on The New York Times best seller list within weeks of publication last year, remained on the list for a staggering 40 weeks, and has been translated into 35 languages.

Today, Moriarty receives so many emails from her adoring, mostly American, fans that she has ­reluctantly had to outsource the replies.