A  rlene Dickinson’s powers of persuasion are paying off. The entrepreneur and TV personality (Dragon’s Den) has inked a deal to develop her best-selling business book, Persuasion, into an hour-long TV drama series with marblemedia.

Playback can exclusively confirm that marblemedia has optioned the rights to the HarperCollins Canada novel, which traces Dickinson’s determination and dedication in growing her business with a fresh and powerful approach that doesn’t include ruthless behaviour. The goal is to establish a diverse cast and a creative team of empowered women behind and in front of the cameras to tell that story of women lifting each other up and setting an example for the next generation.

Heading up that charge is award-winning Canadian writer and producer Alexandra Zarowny (Wynonna Earp), who joins the series as a writer and executive producer. Dickinson is also boarding as executive producer along with marblemedia’s Matthew Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Carrie Paupst Shaughnessy.

“We are going to focus this story on elements of the high-stakes business world that we don’t typically see on television,” said Shaughnessy, VP of scripted at marblemedia in a statement. “We will showcase the bravery it takes to invest in a dream and try to beat the odds, and that business can be an emotional rollercoaster ride – all while showcasing a strong woman at the center who forges her own path and demonstrates that successful business can be done differently.”

“I’m thrilled to be working with marblemedia on a scripted version of my book to bring a show about a female leader forging her own path to television viewers around the world,” added Dickinson. “The world needs a show that demonstrates a different approach to doing business successfully and that inspires women to break barriers to reach their dreams, that is what is at the core of Persuasion.”

The series marks Dickinson’s first foray into scripted television, however Canadian viewers recognize her from CBC’s Dragon’s Den, where she has spent more than a decade striking deals with Canadian entrepreneurs. Dickinson is also an inductee in Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame.

Persuasion is the latest project announced as part of marblemedia’s ongoing development slate. The company previously announced an adaptation of The Other Boy, based on the best-selling novel by M.G. Hennessey, and Holding Still, a Toronto-set novel by author, poet and screenwriter, Zoe Whittall.

Persuasion was first published in 2011. The autobiographical novel follows Dickinson in her early thirties when she had no savings and no clue how she was going to feed her four young children on her high school diploma. A year later she was a partner in Venture Communications, and a decade later she was CEO of the company as it was poised to become one of the largest independently owned marketing firms in the country. The novel blends stories from her past with social science to explain how to get people to buy into your business while effectively dealing with the naysayers.

Dickinson followed the novel up with her second book, All In, in 2013 and with her third book, Reinvention, in 2019.

Casting and a broadcaster on Persuasion will be announced at a later date.