Samantha Josephs’ debut horror novel Carrying, about a transgender woman living in secret who discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant, is being turned into a feature film. Tommy Dorfman’s Good Girl Productions is producing and directing the adaptation, with Josephs writing the screenplay.
The news comes from Variety, which published the exclusive announcement. The novel follows Martha, a trans woman who has kept her identity hidden from her family. When a mysterious illness threatens her life, she begins experimental treatments and unexpected cravings. The logline describes the pregnancy as “undeniably, impossibly” possible.
Carrying releases Oct. 6 through Putnam/Penguin Random House. It was recently shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
Martha’s Secret Life
Martha is described in the logline as “stealth even her family has no idea.” She has “carved the woman she is out of the marble of a boy,” a phrase that captures how she has shaped her identity over years of secrecy. The novel’s premise is deliberately strange: a trans woman who has concealed her gender from her family suddenly finds herself with a condition that should be impossible for her to carry.
The logline continues that she’ll “do whatever it takes to protect what she’s built.” That protective instinct runs through the story. The pregnancy arrives as Martha faces a chronic illness and its debilitating symptoms. The experimental treatments she undertakes are part of a desperate bid to hold onto her existence.
Dorfman’s Track Record
Tommy Dorfman is attached as director and producer. She launched Good Girl Productions in 2025, focusing on film, television and theater. Alyssa Raimann serves as vice president at the banner.
Dorfman is best known for acting work in “13 Reasons Why” and “Jane the Virgin.” She also directed the coming-of-age drama “I Wish You All the Best” for Lionsgate. Her directing credits include that film.
Good Girl’s current slate includes a feature adaptation of Torrey Peters’ bestseller Detransition, Baby. Another project in development is a movie based on Allie Rowbottom’s thriller novel Aestetica.
The Creative Team
Josephs is repped by UTA. Dorfman is repped by Linden Entertainment, Yorn Levi and ID PR.
The deal pairs a writer making her fiction debut with a director. Josephs has written across podcasts, video games, apps and erotica before turning to prose.
Why Dorfman Saw It
Dorfman’s connection to the project goes beyond professional interest. Josephs said their first meeting made the fit feel immediate.
“From our very first meeting, it wasn’t just Tommy’s love for ‘Carrying’ that got me, but that she completely understood it,” Josephs said. “For a book that I know is extremely out there, it feels especially touching that she sees it and Martha so completely.”
She added: “As we’ve started working together, Tommy’s vision for my twisted tale has me absolutely giddy for everyone to experience. I know my baby is safe in Tommy’s capable hands.”
The quote suggests a mutual trust built on shared understanding. Josephs wrote a novel she knew would be difficult to pitch, and she found a director who grasped it immediately.
The Novel’s Path
Carrying is Josephs’ first published book. She is a New York native now living in Los Angeles. She graduated from USC’s Writing for the Screen and Television program.
Her path to publishing involved multiple creative industries. She worked across podcasts, video games, apps and erotica before writing the novel. The range of her background suggests a writer comfortable with different forms of storytelling.
The Adaptation
The adaptation is still in development. No release date has been announced for the film.
The project joins Good Girl’s slate alongside Detransition, Baby and Aestetica. Dorfman’s company is building a catalog of literary adaptations, and Carrying extends that pattern into horror territory.
The combination of a debut novelist and a director with established television credits gives the project momentum. Dorfman has already proven she can move between episodic television and feature filmmaking, and Josephs brings a fresh voice to the page.
Here is the key sequence of events:
- Samantha Josephs writes Carrying, a horror novel about a transgender woman who discovers she is pregnant.
- Tommy Dorfman reads the manuscript and decides to adapt it for film.
- Dorfman launches Good Girl Productions in 2025.
- Josephs graduates from USC’s Writing for the Screen and Television program.
- Josephs works across podcasts, video games, apps and erotica before turning to prose.
- Carrying is released through Putnam/Penguin Random House on Oct. 6.
- The novel is shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
- Dorfman directs and produces the adaptation, with Josephs writing the screenplay.
The project is still in development, and the film’s release date has not been announced. But the creative team is assembled, and both women seem confident in the direction the story is headed.
Source material: “Samantha Josephs’ Debut Horror Novel ‘Carrying’ to Receive Feature Adaptation From Tommy Dorfman’s Good Girl Productions (EXCLUSIVE),” Variety.
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