Alan Parker ("The Life of David Gale," Angela's Ashes") is in negotiations to write and adapt the film adaptation of Jamila Gavin's award-winning book "The Coram Boy" for Miramax Films.

Set in 1741 England, "Coram" is about two orphans -- one rescued from an African slave ship, the other the abandoned son of the heir to a great estate -- who get a second chance at life in Britain's Coram hospice, a home for deserted children.

The book won the Whitbread Award for British children's literature, and a stage version of the novel recently opened on Broadway to critical acclaim. Scott Rudin and Allison Owen are producing the film.