Stars Collective investigates Leigh Howard & the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor

The book cover art for Leigh Howard & the Ghosts of Simmons–Pierce Manor

US-based storytelling and entertainment company Stars Collective has optioned Shawn M Warner’s young-adult murder-mystery novel Leigh Howard & the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor for film and TV.

Published by Black Rose Writing in 2022, Leigh Howard & the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor found fame last year via a TikTok video and has since become an Amazon Books bestseller.

The novel tells the tale of a teenage girl who teams up with a ghost with multiple personalities to solve the mystery of her parents’ murder.

Founded in 2020 by Peter Luo, Stars Collective is a diversity-focused initiative that aims to “push the boundaries of storytelling through the integration of breakthrough technologies.”

It operates a business model that intends to link globally renowned directors and producers for joint original IP development, and runs an incubator programme that currently supports more than 200 emerging filmmakers and artists from diverse backgrounds.

Stars Collective has teamed up with Luo’s LA- and Hong Kong-based producer-financier Starlight Media and Hana Investment in China on a US$300m fund established to invest in film and TV, comics, games, collectibles, consumer goods, AI and advanced entertainment technologies.

The three companies are working on a slate of film franchises and video games adapted from major movies.