Kerry Washington will produce a film adaption of Brit Bennett’s debut novel The Mothers. The project will be produced under Washington’s Simpson Street Banner.

Bennett will write the script for the project based on her New York Times bestselling novel, which was published in October 2016.

The novel is set in a black community in a small suburban Southern California town where a big secret rocks the lives of several of its residents.

The story explores young love, friendship and loss through a story centered on Nadia, a teen who, while grieving after her mother’s suicide, starts a relationship with the pastor’s son and becomes pregnant. The choice she makes not only affects her own life and relationships for decades to come but the lives of Luke and her best friend, Aubrey.

Kerry Washington To Produce Film Adaptation of ‘The Mothers’