In a heated auction, Random House has acquired I, Medusa, the debut adult novel by Ayana Gray, author of the blockbuster YA trilogy Beasts of Prey. Caitlin McKenna, editorial director for fiction at Random House, acquired North American rights in a two-book deal from Pete Knapp at Park & Fine Literary Media. I, Medusa is slated to be released in fall 2025, and Random House will publish the novel simultaneously with Black & White in the U.K. To date, Gray's books have been translated into 10 languages, and the eponymous first book in the Beasts of Prey series, published in 2021 by Nancy Paulsen Books, is in feature film development with Netflix.
Part bildungsroman, part villain origin story, I, Medusa reimagines the titular Gorgon as a young, queer, Black woman caught in the crosshairs of rivaling Olympian gods. The novel follows Medusa over the course of her life: as a child seeking validation; an adolescent exploring her budding sexuality and navigating a toxic romance; and, finally, an adult who is condemned for a crime she did not commit and forced to embrace a new identity in the face of social expulsion.
Gray has long been a fan of Greco-Roman mythology, and had always been “loosely familiar” with the story of Medusa, she said. But one day, while doing some casual reading, she discovered that certain aspects of Medua’s origins were contested. “This immediately sparked my intrigue and I began to wonder how reimagining Medusa as a young Black woman might challenge—and contribute to—her myth and legacy,” Gray told PW. “What I found, as I outlined those opening chapters, was that I was able to relate to Medusa’s story in a new and really visceral way.”
There is no shortage of novels that reimagine Greek mythology, particularly from a feminist lens, but Gray’s approach stood out to McKenna. “Retellings of classic myths often imagine those ancient worlds as predominantly white spaces, and Ayana’s novel intentionally troubles those depictions,” she said. “Her Medusa is a young Black woman navigating an Ancient Greece that more closely resembles the actual Ancient Greece–a place that was culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse–and must grapple with how her appearance and her identity impact how she moves through the world.”
McKenna first got word of I, Medusa from a scout, who told her that the manuscript was circulating. (She noted that she was not included in the original submission, as she’d never before worked with Peter Knapp, Gray’s agent.) “Perhaps because I had been one of those kids obsessed with D’aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, I immediately reached out to Pete,” McKenna recalled. “I had to play catch-up, but I think I would have read this book overnight even if it wasn’t a competitive situation—it truly grabs you from page one.”
As for Knapp, he was thrilled the novel found a home with Random House. "When Ayana spoke to the team at Random House, it was instantly clear that they were the right partners—with the right vision—to bring this story into the world with the appropriate force needed for a character as powerful as Ayana’s Medusa," Knapp said.
While McKenna wasn’t previously familiar with the Beasts of Prey series, she said that her background in YA “was an immediately appealing aspect of her career to me,” adding, “I often find that I love the narrative propulsion and big feelings YA writers bring to their adult fiction.”
Gray agreed that writing for younger readers has equipped her with unique skills. "Writing three books in the young adult space has certainly taught me to sharpen my pacing and on-page emotionality, which is a skill I’m grateful to bring to my adult fiction," she said. "On the other hand, I appreciate that adult fiction allows me to explore certain themes with more nuance, complexity, and moral ambiguity."
Yet Gray didn’t initially intend to write her first work of adult fiction with I, Medusa. "Adapting this story for an adult readership wasn’t a conscious choice," Gray said. "In the beginning, I focused on telling the most authentic story I could, one that honored the version of Medusa I saw so vividly in my mind. As I wrote though, it became clear that some of the themes I wanted to explore didn’t feel quite right for my YA readership, especially my youngest readers. After that, it very organically became an adult novel."
No matter her intended audience, Gray’s ultimate aim remains the same: to explore Blackness through a speculative lens. As both a reader and a writer, she said, she revels in the imaginative freedom that comes with the genre: "Ultimately, that’s what I appreciate most about speculative fiction—the space it allows to ask ‘what if?’”
