EXCLUSIVE: Tiye and Keisha Mennefee’s audiobook Rifts and Refrains from Honey Magnolia Media is being adapted for TV by Attica Locke and Tembi Locke for Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Audiobook – How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
Rifts and Refrains follows an aspiring black writer and musician who discovers a hidden legacy of love, betrayal, and music in her estranged grandfather’s past, leading her on a journey of self-discovery and unexpected romance in the heart of the Nashville and Memphis country music scenes, the birthplace of the blues.
“We grew up listening to Charley Pride and Muddy Waters in our grandmother’s house in Texas, and have playlists full of Rhiannon Giddens, Mickey Guyton, Yola and Brittany Spencer. We know the twin sounds of blues and country and couldn’t be more excited to explore a story that highlights the crosscurrents of these two sounds and cultural institutions in American life. As always for us, love and family are the vehicles through which we tell stories that touch on larger themes of connection, stories that bring us closer together,” the Lockes said in a joint statement.
The Locke sisters will also co-showrun and executive produce through their overall deal with the studio. Bestselling author Kennedy Ryan (Before I Let Go) and Mennefee are also executive producers. Universal Studio Group’s Creative Acquisitions and IP Management team was instrumental in securing the rights to the book.
