Amy DuBois Barnett’s Book ‘If I Ruled The World’ Lands Hulu Series

The book is inspired by Barnett's own journey as a media pioneer and trailblazing editor.

Amy DuBois Barnett will have her debut work hit the small screen as Hulu greenlights an adaption of the novel.

“If I Ruled The World” will officially release to bookshelves Jan. 27. However, the project already has plans for streaming, with Hulu acquiring the rights to adapt Barnett’s book. She shared the news on Instagram, expressing her excitement about the book’s entertainment.

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“I wrote this novel seeing it cinematically from the start, and it’s surreal to now be shaping that vision for the screen. And my book comes out Tuesday. What a week,” exclaimed the editor.

As Barnett’s work is expected to make a splash in the literary scene, incoming fans of the novel can get ready for its television debut. Variety confirmed that Hulu intends to make the series an hour-long drama. Barnett will serve as co-executive produce alongside Lee Daniels, who will also co-writes the highly-anticipated pilot.

The novel takes inspiration from Barnett’s life as a media trailblazer, making history as the editor-in-chief of Ebony Magazine and Teen People. However, the story particularly focuses on a younger version of herself. The protagonist, Nikki Rose, navigates life as the sole Black editor of a publication at the turn of the century.

“It’s 1999, and Nikki Rose is the only Black editor on the staff of a prestigious fashion magazine she once thought would be her ticket to becoming a respected editor in chief,” according to the synopsis on Amazon.

However, Rose decides to bet on herself, leaving what she once considered a dream job to instead lead a Black magazine.

It continues, “But after being told one too many times by her boss that “Black girls don’t sell magazines,” she quits to take over Sugar, a struggling hip hop music and lifestyle magazine with untapped potential…Thrown into an entirely new world of wealth, decadence, and debauchery, Nikki has just six months to save Sugar―and her own dreams.”

Amid the release of “If I Ruled The World,” Barnett will head on a book tour to cities from Brooklyn to Atlanta to further engage fans.