Canongate Myth Series

If you are a fan of myths, fairy tales, and literary fiction, here is a great series you may not have heard of: The Canongate Myth Series.  This series was organized by Jamie Byng, owner of the publisher Canongate Books.  The series features retellings of classic myths by contemporary authors from around the world.  There are meant to be 100 books altogether, with the last book in the series said to come out sometime in 2038.  Click here for a full list of the titles published so far.

Each book will be written by a different author, and so far the series features stories written by Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, Alexander McCall Smith, Karen Armstrong, Ali Smith, and A.S. Byatt.  The latest one, published just this year, is The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino, the author of internationally bestselling crime novels Out, and Real World.  Although The Goddess Chronicle is a departure from her usual work, Kirino beautifully retells the story of the Japanese goddess of the Realm of the Dead, Izanami, and her consort, Izanaki.   

Unfortunately, not every book in this series is available in English.  A few of them were only published in certain countries, under their native language.  Also, the ABC Library system does not carry every book in the series, but the ones we don't have are often available through our Interlibrary Loan services.

This mass storytelling effort is a way to bring new life to old parables (while passing on their ancient lessons) to a whole new millennia of people who can't resist a good story!