The Canongate Myth Series is a series of novellas published by the independent Scottish publisher Canongate Books, in which ancient myths from various cultures are reimagined and rewritten. The project was conceived in 1999 by Jamie Byng, owner of Canongate, and the first three titles in the series were published on 21 October 2005."World's top writers recruited to rewrite ancient tales", CBC.ca, 21 October 2005. Though the initial novellas received mixed-to-positive reviews,"Weight" , Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007."The Penelopiad" , Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007.Alexander, Caroline. "Myths Made Modern", The New York Times, 11 December 2005. the project was heralded by many in the press as "bold" and "ambitious","'Free will is like falling off a roof'", The Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2006.Hand, Elizabeth. "The New Muses: A highly anticipated series of classic myths re-imagined by modern authors" , The Washington Post, 25 December 2005. with the tabloid Metro calling it "one of the most ambitious acts of mass storytelling in recent years". Canongate Myth Series official site
The series is intended to have an international focus, with contributing authors that have included Russian writer Victor Pelevin and Israeli author David Grossman. Also, the first title in the series, Karen Armstrong's A Short History of Myth, was published the same day in 33 countries and 28 languages, in what The Washington Post called "the biggest simultaneous publication ever". As of 2008, nine books have been published in the series, with Byng hoping to eventually publish 100.
Three titles were published in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2007: Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong, Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith, and Where Three Roads Meet by Salley Vickers. Installments in the series are also forthcoming from the authors A. S. Byatt, Chinua Achebe and Natsuo Kirino.
Michel Faber's contribution, The Fire Gospel, was published in 2008. 2009 saw the publication of Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić and The Hurricane Party by Klas Östergren.
Orphans of Eldorado by Milton Hatoum and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman were published in 2010.
List of titles Title Author Mythological characters Publication date A Short History of Myth Karen Armstrong 21 October 2005 19 October 2005 The Penelopiad Margaret Atwood Penelope, Odysseus 21 October 2005 19 October 2005 Weight Jeanette Winterson Atlas, Heracles 21 October 2005 The Helmet of Horror Victor Pelevin(trans. Andrew Bromfield) Theseus, the Minotaur 2005 2 March 2006 October 2006 30 November 2006 Lion's Honey David Grossman(trans. Stuart Schoffman) Samson 2005 23 March 2006 1 June 2006 October 2006 4 December 2006 Dream Angus Alexander McCall Smith Aengus 12 September 2006 5 October 2006 October 2006 Anna In w grobowcach świata (Anna In in the Tombs of the World) Olga Tokarczuk (not translated to English) Inanna 2006 Girl Meets Boy Ali Smith Iphis 1 November 2007 21 December 2007 26 September 2008 Binu and the Great Wall Su Tong(trans. Howard Goldblatt) Meng Jiang Nü 2006 October 2006 1 November 2007 18 February 2008 Where Three Roads Meet Salley Vickers Oedipus, Tiresias 1 November 2007 10 August 2008 Baba Yaga Laid an EggDubravka Ugrešić Baba Yaga April 2008 May 2009 The Fire Gospel Michel Faber Prometheus November 2008 The Goddess ChronicleNatsuo Kirino(trans. Rebecca Copeland) Izanagi, Izanami 3 March 2013 Orphans of EldoradoMilton Hatoum Mythology of Amazonia January 2008 2 July 2009 The Hurricane Party Klas Östergren Norse mythology August 20072009 The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel ChristPhilip Pullman Christian mythology April 2010 28 October 2010 Ragnarok: The End of the GodsA. S. Byatt Ragnarok September 2011 The Song of King GesarAlai(trans. Howard Goldblatt)(trans. Sylvia Li-chun Lin) Epic of King Gesar November 2013
References
External links TheMyths.co.uk, Canongate Myths official site The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ , official book page