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.[1] Though the initial novellas received mixed-to-positive reviews,[2][3][4] the project was heralded by many in the press as "bold" and "ambitious",[4][5][6] with the tabloid Metro calling it "one of the most ambitious acts of mass storytelling in recent years".[7]

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".[6] As of 2008, nine books have been published in the series, with Byng hoping to eventually publish 100.[7]

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,[1] Chinua Achebe and Natsuo Kirino.[8]

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

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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 Egg Dubravka Ugrešić Baba Yaga   April 2008
  May 2009
The Fire Gospel Michel Faber Prometheus   November 2008
The Goddess Chronicle Natsuo Kirino
(trans. Rebecca Copeland)
Izanagi, Izanami   3 March 2013
Orphans of Eldorado Milton Hatoum Mythology of Amazonia   January 2008
  2 July 2009
The Hurricane Party Klas Östergren Norse mythology 2009
The Good Man Jesus
and the Scoundrel Christ
Philip Pullman Christian mythology April 2010
  28 October 2010
Ragnarok: The End of the Gods A. S. Byatt Ragnarok   September 2011
The Song of King Gesar Alai
(trans. Howard Goldblatt)
(trans. Sylvia Li-chun Lin)
Epic of King Gesar   November 2013

References

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  1. ^ a b "World's top writers recruited to rewrite ancient tales", CBC.ca, 21 October 2005.
  2. ^ "Weight" Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  3. ^ "The Penelopiad" Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  4. ^ a b Alexander, Caroline. "Myths Made Modern", The New York Times, 11 December 2005.
  5. ^ "'Free will is like falling off a roof'"[dead link], The Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2006.
  6. ^ a b Hand, Elizabeth. "The New Muses: A highly anticipated series of classic myths re-imagined by modern authors", The Washington Post, 25 December 2005.
  7. ^ a b Canongate Myth Series official site
  8. ^ FT.com / Arts & weekend / Books – Myth understood
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