Orbit lands mythical trio from North

Orbit UK has inked a deal for a trio of novels from award-winning author Claire North that retell the ancient Greek myth of Penelope, wife of Odysseus.  

Meg Davis at the Ki Agency sold world rights to publisher Anna Jackson who will release the first book with Redhook US this September in a co-ordinated global release alongside a major campaign. Books two and three in the series will follow in 2023 and 2024 and will be "narrated" by the goddesses Aphrodite and Athena. 

The first book, Ithaca, is narrated by the goddess Hera, and is described by the publisher as “a daring, exquisite tale that breathes new life into ancient myth, and tells of the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men”.  

Jackson said: “There is a great hunger for tales set in the classical age right now, but Ithaca is a retelling like no other. Claire North is widely recognised as one of the most unique and innovative voices in modern fiction, and her readers will be thrilled to see her turn her hand to ancient Greece—with such flair. This bold, captivating and moving novel tells the story of Penelope and the other women left on Ithaca when the men of their island have sailed off to war. And as the world around them is torn apart by men and gods alike, it is the women who defend their isle and hold a fragile peace. Ithaca is a novel that’s beautiful and brutal, irreverent and utterly devastating all at once, and in the words of author M R Carey, feels ‘urgently contemporary’.” 

North commented: “A lot of stories set in this time write about women as either victims, their agency stripped away, or as mere cyphers to the lives of the men around them. Penelope is not a victim, but if people think she is, she is very willing to use that to further her aims. This book is the secret history of the women the poets ignored, as they plotted, schemed and waged war.” 

North is a pseudonym for the author Catherine Webb. Her first book under the  name Claire North was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (Orbit), which is being adapted as a movie by Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Partners with “Maze Runner” director Wes Ball.  

North has since published several critically acclaimed novels and won the World Fantasy Award and the John W Campbell Award, and has been shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award, the Philip K  Dick Award, the Locus Award and the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award.  

Her novels have been sold in translation in over 20 territories. Her 2018 novel 84K (Orbit) has also been optioned by Tall Story Pictures, an ITV Studios production company that plans to develop it as an international television drama series. North’s most recent novel, Notes From the Burning Age (Orbit), is published in paperback on 10th February.