Jane Featherstone’s indie Sister Pictures has picked up the rights to Naomi Alderman’s sci-fi novel The Power.

The fledgling indie fought off competition from 10 other bidders to secure the author’s fourth novel, which was published by Penguin in October.

Sister acquired the rights from Georgina Ruffhead at David Higham Associates.

The Power is set in a fictitious world where women gain the power to electrocute people at will and explores what would happen if they were able to cause pain and destruction.

The series will be written by Alderman and developed by Sister’s Katie Carpenter. Alderman, Featherstone and Naomi de Pear will executive produce.

Alderman said the series would “expand” on the stories told in the novel.

“Jane’s track record, and her commitment to excellence in writing speak for themselves, and Sister Pictures’ deep understanding of the book impressed me hugely,” she added. “There probably won’t be another novel, but there are definitely so many more stories to tell than I had room for in the book.”

Featherstone described Alderman as “one of the boldest and most interesting authors of our time”.

“The Power is a story of our times, clever, funny, important and original, it asks us to consider a world where the shifting balances of power create a new and dangerous dynamic,” she said.