Last April it was reported that Disney had acquired the rights to turn Neil Gaiman‘s children’s fantasy The Graveyard Book, and that The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline director Henry Selick was set to make it into his next stop-motion project. Unfortunately for fans of the book and Selick’s previous works, Disney decided to shut down the project due to scheduling and development conflicts.

Jump to today, and it looks as if Disney is ready to give the movie another go. According to sources, the studio has entered into negotiations with Ron Howard to direct the movie. And this time, they’re looking to turn Gaiman’s book into a live-action movie instead of stop-motion.

From the Haunted Mansion to the cemetery, Disney has acquired the rights to acclaimed author Neil Gaiman‘s Newbery Award-winning 2008 youth novel, The Graveyard Book.

Deadline also reports that Henry Selick (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas) will be directing the stop-motion adaptation of Gaiman’s kid-friendly novel, which is still looking for a screenwriter.

Ok, I just now stumbled upon this Kindle eBook deal available only in the UK – it’s for Neil Gaiman‘s award-winning book The Graveyard Book for only £0.99 (it’s normally £4.08).

As of this posting the deal ends in around 9 hours, so those of you in the UK, grab this book at this low price asap – it’s an awesome book!!! (See the countdown clock on the main deal page.)

If you’re in the UK and want the print edition, the UK paperback version for £4.29. (In the U.S., the U.S. Paperback and U.S. Kindle are only $7.99 each.)

My favorite author in the entire world, Neil Gaiman, turns 50 today, so for this most special occasion, I thought I’d point out to you one of his stories that’s available to read online right now for free (legally, of course).

This short story is called Cinnamon, and it’s never been collected in print, only as an audio narrated by Gaiman. You can read it online at at the link above, where it’s accompanied by beautiful color illustrations by Jill Schwarz. (The audio version is available here for a very low price).

Cinnamon is a fable about an exotic princess who refuses to speak. There’s also a parrot, an angry aunt, fields of mango, and a tiger.

If you want more free Gaiman works, check out The Graveyard Book Video Tour, a collection of videos of the author reading from the book, which won the Newbery Medal in 2009.

For Gaiman’s birthday in 2008, we pulled together A Beginner’s Guide to Neil Gaiman, so if you’re not that familiar with the author, take a gander at that list and jump on! There’s something on it for every age group.

We’re huge, huge fans of Neil Gaiman here at Geeks of Doom, so it’s always exciting to hear about another one of his wonderful books being turned into a movie. No, it’s not easy to adapt a two-hour film from the incredible stories that this man creates, but even so, it’s worth trying!

The trades are reporting that Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book has finally found some backing. Chris Columbus and his 1492 Pictures are teaming up with CJ Entertainment to bring the story to life. Columbus, of course is a well-respected director responsible for movies like Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.