NEW YORK (AP) – An Oscar nominee at age 9, Quvenzhane Wallis is now getting an early start on a writing career.
The actress known for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” has a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for a chapter book series and a picture book. The publisher said Wednesday the series will have three chapter books; the first is scheduled for January 2017. The work is currently untitled.
“Reading is very important,” Wallis, whose other films include “Annie” and “12 Years a Slave,” said in a statement issued through her publisher. “It allows people to form a visual experience in their minds of what is going on in the story. I hope all readers enjoy using their imaginations along with me and take a journey into my books.”
Both the series and the picture book should remind readers of the actress herself, now 12. The series features a “precocious and talented” third grader with star potential; the picture book will have a “spunky young heroine” anxious to attend an awards show.
Wallis will have a co-writer, still to be determined, for the chapter books. Illustrators for her picture book and chapter series also have yet to be chosen.