According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar-winner Anna Paquin has signed up to play Sookie Stackhouse in the Alan (Six Feet Under) Ball-produced HBO pilot True Blood, which is based on the series of novels by Charlaine Harris (all of which are currently available from the SFBC, starting with our omnibus of the first three novels, Dead In Dixie).

There doesn't seem to be any guantee of a series at this point, but the pilot would have to be really lousy not to get picked up, and, with both Ball and Paquin invovled, that seems very unlikely.