Bolu Babalola’s ‘Honey & Spice’ Heads to the Big Screen with Working Title
Working Title, the powerhouse production company behind British rom-com staples Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, and Love Actually, has officially optioned the film rights to Bolu Babalola’s bestselling novel Honey & Spice. The news marks another major milestone for the British-Nigerian author, who will also adapt the screenplay, her debut feature film script. Honey & Spice […]
Black News 
Working Title, the powerhouse production company behind British rom-com staples Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, and Love Actually, has officially optioned the film rights to Bolu Babalola’s bestselling novel Honey & Spice.
The news marks another major milestone for the British-Nigerian author, who will also adapt the screenplay, her debut feature film script.
Honey & Spice follows Kiki Banjo, a sharp, savvy, and romance-averse Black British university student whose world is upended when she unexpectedly lands in a fake relationship with the very man she cautioned her friends to avoid. Balancing humour, heart, and a refreshingly grounded portrayal of young Black British life, the novel struck a powerful chord with global audiences.
Since its publication, Honey & Spice has become a transatlantic success story. The novel was selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, championed by TikTok’s BookTok community, and named a Book of the Year by Waterstones, The New York Times, TIME, and NPR. It also took home the inaugural TikTok Book of the Year Award.
Babalola said: “Since Honey and Spice was published, I’ve been so appreciative of the incredible response from readers and the industry alike. As my debut novel, Kiki and Malakai’s story is so close to my heart, and I can’t wait to adapt their trials and tribulations in love for cinema audiences with the master of romantic films: Working Title.”
Babalola first made her mark with the acclaimed short story collection Love In Colour, which became a Times bestseller and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year. Her most recent novel, Sweet Heat, published this summer, continues to cement her status as one of the UK’s leading contemporary storytellers.
With Working Title at the helm and Babalola guiding the screenplay, Honey & Spice is set to bring a fresh, joyful, and culturally rich take on the rom-com genre to the big screen. We’ll be watching closely as this one develops.
