Are Greek myths, as Charlotte Higgins argued for The Guardian in 2021, ‘relevant for all time’? This question relates to the widespread influence of ancient Greek myth in contemporary culture, especially in areas such as literature. The classical stories of Homer and Sophocles, amongst others, are frequently being revised to offer a modern entry point to ancient myth. In recent years, publishing has seen a sharp rise in re-imaginings of Greek myth, and works by Pat Barker, Margaret Atwood, Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes, Jennifer Saint, Bea Fitzgerald, and Jessie Burton, have all appeared on bestseller lists. 

Each of these authors seek to challenge, deconstruct, and retell Greek myths from a diverse range of twenty-first century viewpoints. These classical works are re-imagined in the context of evolving ideas around gender, sexuality, and identity. This renewed interest in Greek myth and classical texts raises a series of questions about the interplay between the ancient and the contemporary. Many of the texts are united through their interventionist approach, with authors seeking to disrupt and challenge ancient Greek narratives.  

For example, how does detailing Medusa’s assault at the hands of Poseidon in Natalie Haynes’s Stone Blind (2022) ask us to reconsider previous characterisations of Medusa as a monster? How does this retelling challenge the reader to reconsider their understanding of Medusa? What might this reveal in terms of how issues of power and gender are explored in these contemporary rewrites?

This collection will seek to explore how these contemporarynarratives invite us to reconsider our understanding of ancientGreekmythical characters, tropes, and ideas, and position these discussions in the light of the contemporary. So far, this developing field of writing has not received much critical attention despite being both commercially and critically successful. In 2024 alone, more than a dozen new literary works were published that focus on this exciting and evolving area. Radical Retellings seeks to address this critical gap by offering a new and exciting analysis of this emerging and important literary moment.  

We are seeking chapters of 5-6000 words that seek to explore contemporary retellings of Greek myth in any literary genre (prose, poetry, drama, graphic novel, etc).  

Topics might include but are not limited to: 

• Queer retellings 

• Sex and sexuality 

• Rethinking the role of the hero/heroine 

• Shifting narrative perspectives and the importance of voice 

• Feminist updates of classic texts 

• Transformation and/or the body 

• Agency and autonomy

• Magic and the supernatural 

• The gaze 

• Animals and the natural world 

• Domestic and non-domestic spaces  

• Landscapes and eco-critical perspectives 

• Violence and bodily harm  

• Community/communities of women  

Please send all abstracts (no more than 500 words) and short biographies to the editors by Friday 7th March 2025.  The editors are: Isabelle Berrow (isabelle.berrow1@yorksj.ac.uk) Zoe Enstone (Z.Enstone@yorksj.ac.uk) and Anne-Marie Evans (A.Evans@yorksj.ac.uk)  

Decisions will be made by the end of April 2025, with a view for full chapters to be expected in November 2025.