Random House's Hogarth imprint has launched The Hogarth Shakespeare project, which will see commissioned authors writing prose retelling of the Bard's plays. The first two authors slated to do retellings are Anne Tyler, who will be tackling Taming of the Shrew, and Jeannette Winterson, who is doing The Winter's Tale.
Hogarth said the retellings will "be true to the spirit of the original dramas and their popular appeal, while giving authors an exciting opportunity to reinvent these seminal works of English literature."
The program is an internarional one--Hogarth is partnering with publishers in various countries, including Canada, Spain, South Africa and India--and the titles are set to publish in 2016, to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. (The project was conceptualized by three executives at Chatto & Windus/Hogarth: senior Juliet Brooke; deputy publishing director Becky Hardie; and publishing director, Clara Farmer.) All titles will be publishing simultaneously by the various publishers participating, in English, in print, digital and audio.
