The Academy Award (also known by its nickname “Oscar”) for Best Adapted Screenplay is awarded to the best screenplay adapted from previously established material, as determined by Academy member-voters. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musicals, short stories, TV series, and even other films and film characters. All sequels are also considered adaptations by this standard (based on the story and characters set forth in the original film). The movie Barbie is one of the nominees this year even though it’s not based on a book, but on the characters created by Ruth Handler. So, we’ve included a book about Ruth Handler and the creation of Barbie.

The 96th Academy Awards winners were announced on March 10.

American Fiction

ERASURE by Percival Everett (DB 103402)

Barbie

BARBIE AND RUTH: THE STORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS DOLL AND THE WOMAN WHO CREATED HER by Robin Gerber (DB 69491)

Oppenheimer

AMERICAN PROMETHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (DB 61087)

Poor Things

POOR THINGS: EPISODES FROM THE EARLY LIFE OF ARCHIBALD MCCANDLESS, M.D., SCOTTISH PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER by Alisdair Gray (DB 38112)

The Zone of Interest

The ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis (BRG 03577)