CHICAGO, IL, November 25, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Flying Scoop, the award-winning, human-driven production company, is thrilled to announce that it has optioned the film rights to Evil on the Roof of the World: A Cycling Trip That Ended in Terror, the deeply moving and harrowing narrative nonfiction by William Elliott Hazelgrove.The book, published by Bloomsbury on November 13, 2025, recounts the heartbreaking true story of Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, two young American idealists who left their stable careers in Washington, D.C. to embark on a global cycling journey — only to meet a tragic end in the remote mountains of Tajikistan.

On a bleak highway in the Pamir Mountains — often called "the Roof of the World" — in July 2018, Lauren, Jay, and two fellow cyclists were brutally murdered by five ISIS terrorists.

Hazelgrove reconstructs their story through their Simply Cycling travel blog, social media posts, interviews with friends and family, and global media coverage, offering a profound exploration of idealism, risk, love, and violence.

"This story is heartbreaking, courageous, and deeply cinematic," said Mark Finklepearl "Flying Scoop is honored to partner with William Hazelgrove to bring Lauren and Jay's journey — and their legacy — to the screen." Flying Scoop has produced hundreds of hours of televison for companies as diverse as National Geographic, Discovery, and Fox Nation. Their latest release, The Real Hatfields and McCoys Forever Fueding was a streaming success.

"Evil on the Roof of the World is about more than a single act of terror," said Mark Finkelpearl, Partner and Executive Producer at Flying Scoop. "It's a meditation on youthful dreaming, unflinching hope, and what happens when that hope collides with the darkest corners of reality."

Nathaniel Starck, Executive Producer and Director, added: "Our goal is to adapt the book with integrity — to show the beauty of Lauren and Jay's journey, as well as the tragedy of their loss. This is more than a true crime story: it's a story about two people who believed in connection and risk, and what their lives meant to everyone who knew them."

Evil on the Roof of the World is a narrative nonfiction book by William Elliott Hazelgrove that explores the life, love, and tragic fate of Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin.

Drawing from the couple's own writings, interviews, and reporting, Hazelgrove builds a portrait of two adventurous souls who gave up conventional careers to cycle across continents — only to face unspeakable violence in Tajikistan. Reviewers have praised the book's sensitive, deeply researched storytelling, comparing it to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild.

The book was released on November 13 2025.

Flying Scoop Television is a production company that calls themselves "Content Engineers™," specializing in bold, story-driven content for TV, streaming platforms, and brands. They focus on real people and often explore the "hidden edges of society," bringing an outsider's perspective paired with high production values.

William Elliott Hazelgrove is the National Bestselling author of ten novels and twelve nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly Kirkus, Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections, Literary Guild Selections, History Book Club Selections, History Book Club Bestsellers, Distinguished Book Award. and optioned for the movies.

More information can be found at www.williamhazelgrove.com

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