Retellings inspired by Greco-Roman mythology have been one of the biggest book trends of the contemporary book industry. The particularity of retellings relies in their ability to reinvent themselves following social changes and debates while branching out into other literary genres and writing forms. This has led to the emergence of contemporary feminist and women-written retellings, accompanied to a lesser extent by voices from other minorities. Today’s publishing industry, being customer-led, is both a witness and an actor of the retelling trend, bringing forth new challenges for the genre in the form of design uniformisation or by contributing to market saturation. The role of audiences, however, remains at the heart of our understanding of the industry and any literary movement. Social media and online book communities were indeed heavily influent in the success of Greco-Roman retellings and publishers remain under the influence of customer-demands despite some attempts to pursue editorial-led projects. Several issues emerged from these observations, such as a lack of diversity among authors or the appropriation of singular cultures by broader ones, but these challenges also present retellings with space for evolution, a growth which can already be observed. Finally, retellings inherent incompatibility with the industry as it is defined today, through commercial categories and individual actors, might provide opportunity for a new understandings of literary reception and for the prosperity of a timeless genre.
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Jones, Penelope
Rights Holders: Jones, Penelope Supervisors: Lovegrove, Elizabeth
School of Arts
MA Publishing Media
2024
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