This competition has now concluded.
The 2026 Epic Threads Homer in the 21st Century Review Competition invited writers to critically engage with two major contemporary receptions of Homeric epic: Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Jeff Wright's The Full Disclosure Iliad.
Open to scholars, advanced students, educators, writers, devoted fans of Homer, and other thoughtful readers and viewers, the competition encouraged submissions exploring how ancient epic continues to be interpreted, adapted, and reimagined for contemporary audiences.
The original competition guidelines, submission requirements, judging criteria, important dates, and recommended resources have been preserved below as part of the competition archive.
Epic Threads was delighted to receive a strong collection of reviews representing a wide range of perspectives and approaches to contemporary Homeric reception.
Following careful evaluation and discussion by the Epic Threads judging team, five reviews were selected to receive prizes of CAD $100 each. The five prizes were awarded equally and were not ranked.
Carlotta Mühlhardt
An Age Collapsing: Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and the Aftermath of War
Jerome De Smet
Review: Jeff Wright, The Full Disclosure Iliad
Congratulations to all five prize winners, and our sincere thanks to everyone who submitted a review. The quality and variety of the submissions made the final selection process both exciting and exceptionally challenging.
All five prize-winning reviews, together with a broader selection of reviews chosen for publication, appear in the dedicated Odyssey Contest section of Epic Threads, Volume II.
Read the Official Winners Announcement →
The following information preserves the original guidelines, requirements, and judging principles for the 2026 Homer in the 21st Century Review Competition.
Epic Threads invited submissions from scholars, advanced students, educators, writers, devoted fans of Homer, and other thoughtful readers and viewers who wished to engage critically and creatively with two major contemporary interpretations of the Homeric tradition.
The first competition focused on Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey, released on July 17, 2026.
The second focused on Jeff Wright's The Full Disclosure Iliad. Wright is widely known throughout North America for his acclaimed Trojan War and Odyssey podcasts and presented his work at the University of Waterloo's Homer Appreciation Day.
Whether approaching these works as a Classicist, a student of literature, a creative writer, a film enthusiast, or simply a passionate reader of Homer, participants were encouraged to share their perspectives.
Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey represented a major contemporary engagement with Homeric epic. Epic Threads invited reviews that thoughtfully examined Nolan's interpretation of the Odyssey, its relationship to ancient sources, its engagement with modern scholarship, and its success as both a film and a contemporary retelling of Homer's epic.
Jeff Wright's The Full Disclosure Iliad offers a bold and imaginative engagement with the Trojan War tradition, with classical material rearranged into one continuous story and the conclusion of each chapter offering deeper insight into the source material.
Epic Threads invited reviews that assessed Wright's interpretation of Homeric material, his creative decisions, his use of ancient and modern sources, and the effectiveness of his work in bringing the world of the Iliad to contemporary readers.
We were interested in reviews that moved beyond simply identifying differences between modern adaptations and ancient texts.
Successful reviews could consider questions such as:
Changes to Homer's narratives were not automatically considered strengths or weaknesses. Reviewers were encouraged to evaluate what the creator sought to accomplish and how successfully those goals were achieved.
We were not interested in reviews that merely catalogued "errors" or discrepancies between modern adaptations and ancient texts. Rather, we sought thoughtful assessments of what the creator had achieved and how effectively the work spoke to its intended audience.
At the same time, we generally favoured well-argued critical assessments over uncritical praise. Reviews were expected to be analytical, balanced, and supported by evidence.
Reviews were required to:
All submissions were considered for publication and underwent Epic Threads' standard multi-layered editorial review process.
Epic Threads offered up to five prizes of CAD $100 each (Amazon gift cards) for the strongest submissions.
Reviews were adjudicated by jurors drawn from among students with knowledge of Homer and experience in creative writing, supported by Classicists and other subject specialists.
Multiple reviews could ultimately be selected for publication.
The following works were recommended to reviewers:
Reviewers were also encouraged to consult Homer's Iliad and Odyssey directly, together with relevant modern scholarship.
We extend our congratulations once again to Michael Mammarella, Rita Ribeiro Costa, Carlotta Mühlhardt, Hannah Blosser, and Jerome De Smet , the five prize winners of the 2026 Homer in the 21st Century Review Competition.
We also thank every writer who submitted a review and contributed to the competition's exploration of how Homer continues to inspire new forms of interpretation and storytelling in the twenty-first century.
Read the Official Winners Announcement →
Explore Current and Past Epic Threads Competitions →
Questions regarding the competition or its archive may be directed to the Epic Threads editorial team at epicthreadsjournal@gmail.com .
Madelynne Parish & Mary Harper
Co-Editors-in-Chief, Epic Threads
Dr. Altay Coskun & Dr. Andrew Faulkner
Academic Advisors
Epic Threads is delighted to announce the five prize-winning reviews of the 2026 Homer in the 21st Century Review Competition. Each winning review will receive a $100...
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