Genre movie distributor Raven Banner Entertainment 
is aiming at a TV franchise after optioning the rights to young adult author Wesley King’s The Vindico and The Feros.

The Canadian book series, which recently earned a Red Maple Best Fiction Award for King, includes The Vindico, which focuses on five teens abducted from their everyday lives and trained to become the next generation of super-villains.

YA novels are being scooped in big numbers these days after the success of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga movie franchises.

Raven Banner also took the rights to the follow-up sequel The Feros.

“Wesley King is an enormous talent who’s created a rich world of intriguing characters filled with raging hormones and, of course, teen angst,” said Raven Banner’s Michael Paszt, who negotiated the option deal with fellow managing partner James Fler, in a statement.

“This partnership allows both sides to take a hands-on approach, and help elevate this series to the next level,” added King in his own statement.

UTA’s Dana Borowitz negotiated the option deal on behalf of King, who is represented by Brianne Johnson at Writers House, which also represents Stephenie Meyer’s The Twilight Saga franchise.