Cyborg runner Marmeg Guinto could be racing to the big or small screen: Author S.B. Divya announced that Escape Artists Productions has optioned the film and television rights to her Nebula-nominated novella Runtime! 

In Divya’s Tor.com Publishing debut, set in a cyberpunk future that’s neither dystopian nor utopian, Marmeg grapples with a universal dilemma—whether she, as the dark horse, has what it takes to enter the big race:

The Minerva Sierra Challenge is a grueling spectacle, the cyborg’s Tour de France.  Rich thrill-seekers with corporate sponsorships, extensive support teams, and top-of-the-line exoskeletal and internal augmentations pit themselves against the elements in a day-long race across the Sierra Nevada.  Marmeg Guinto doesn’t have funding, and she doesn’t have support.  She cobbled her gear together from parts she found in rich people’s garbage and spent the money her mother wanted her to use for nursing school to enter the race.  But the Minerva Challenge is the only chance she has at a better life for herself and her younger brothers, and she’s ready to risk it all. 

Divya shared the exciting news on Twitter, adding the caveat that optioning doesn’t automatically mean a production deal, though that hasn’t stopped her from starting to fantasy-cast in her head:

Happy to announce that RUNTIME has been optioned by Escape Artist Productions for film & TV rights.  Am I fantasy casting the main characters?  Yes.  Yes, I am.  Big thanks to Brendan Deenan and @BookCannibal for making this possible!  pic.twitter.com/aYRwLgWWzT — S.B. Divya (@divyastweets) March 27, 2018

An independently financed film and TV production company, Escape Artists has a first look non-exclusive deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.  You might know them for A Knight’s Tale, their first release, or more recent releases like Southpaw and The Magnificent Seven. 

Would you rather see Runtime as a TV series or a movie—and who should play Marmeg?