Canongate Myth Series

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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]

Contents

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

TitleAuthorMythological
characters
Publication date
A Short History of Myth Karen Armstrong Flag of Serbia.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the United States.svg 21 October 2005
Flag of Brazil.svg 19 October 2005
The Penelopiad Margaret Atwood Penelope, Odysseus Flag of Serbia.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the United States.svg 21 October 2005
Flag of Brazil.svg 19 October 2005
Weight Jeanette Winterson Atlas, Heracles Flag of Serbia.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the United States.svg 21 October 2005
The Helmet of Horror Victor Pelevin
(trans. Andrew Bromfield)
Theseus, the Minotaur Flag of Russia.svg 2005
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the United States.svg 2 March 2006
Flag of Serbia.svg October 2006
Flag of Brazil.svg 30 November 2006
Lion's Honey David Grossman
(trans. Stuart Schoffman)
Samson Flag of Israel.svg 2005
Flag of the United States.svg 23 March 2006
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1 June 2006
Flag of Serbia.svg October 2006
Flag of Brazil.svg 4 December 2006
Dream Angus Alexander McCall Smith Aengus Flag of the United States.svg 12 September 2006
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 5 October 2006
Flag of Serbia.svg October 2006
Anna In w grobowcach świata
(Anna In in the Tombs of the World)
Olga Tokarczuk
(not translated to English)
Inanna Flag of Poland.svg 2006
Girl Meets Boy Ali Smith Iphis Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1 November 2007
Flag of the United States.svg 21 December 2007
Flag of Brazil.svg 26 September 2008
Binu and the Great Wall Su Tong
(trans. Howard Goldblatt)
Meng Jiang Nü Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg 2006
Flag of Serbia.svg October 2006
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1 November 2007
Flag of the United States.svg 18 February 2008
Where Three Roads Meet Salley Vickers Oedipus, Tiresias Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1 November 2007
Flag of the United States.svg 10 August 2008
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg Dubravka Ugrešić Baba Yaga Flag of Serbia.svg April 2008
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg May 2009
The Fire Gospel Michel Faber Prometheus Flag of the United Kingdom.svg November 2008
The Goddess Chronicle Natsuo Kirino
(trans. Rebecca Copeland)
Izanagi, Izanami Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 3 March 2013
Orphans of Eldorado Milton Hatoum Mythology of Amazonia Flag of Brazil.svg January 2008
Flag of Serbia.svg 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
Flag of Brazil.svg 28 October 2010
Ragnarok: The End of the Gods A. S. Byatt Ragnarok Flag of the United Kingdom.svg September 2011
The Song of King Gesar Alai
(trans. Howard Goldblatt)
(trans. Sylvia Li-chun Lin)
Epic of King Gesar Flag of the United Kingdom.svg November 2013

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