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**A propulsive, electrifying and enraging retelling of the life of Greek goddess Hekate, child of war turned all-powerful goddess of witchcraft and necromancy, by internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill.
Born into a world on fire, Godling Hekate has never known safety. After her parents are on the losing side of the war between the ruling Titans and new Olympian Gods, Hekate is taken by her mother Asteria to the Underworld, where Styx and Hades agree to raise her. Meanwhile, Asteria is pursued across the world by Zeus and Poseidon and, to escape their clutches, transforms herself into an island in a stormy sea.
Orphaned and alone, Hekate grows up amongst the horrors and beauties of the Underworld, desperate to find her divine purpose and a sense of belonging in the land of the dead.
When Hekate finally uncovers her powers and ascends to Goddess status, she realises that even the most powerful Olympians are terrified of her. But when immortal war breaks out again, threatening to destroy everything from Mount Olympus to the Underworld itself, the Goddess of witchcraft and necromancy is the only one who can bring the deadly conflict to an end. . .
Nikita Gill is an Irish-Indian poet who has the attention of over 800,000 Instagram followers worldwide. Her work offers a shift of perspective which centres women in both Greek and Hindu myth, as well as folklore. She has given a TEDx Talk, spoken at every major literary festival in the UK and been shortlisted for the Goodreads Choice Award in poetry three times, the Children’s Poetry Award two times and longlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Gill has written seven poetry collections and two verse novels. Her book of fables for children, Animal Tales from India, won highly commended in Week Junior Kids Awards and her novel in verse, The Angel of Redemption, was published for Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary in 2023. Hekate is the first novel in a loosely connected trilogy about the Greek goddesses of the Underworld.
<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “In Hekate, we are plunged into a vivid and imaginatively wrought divine world that is monstrous, magical and beautiful through the perspective of a bewildered child of war who grows up to understand and embrace her power. It's a timely and achingly resonant reflection on conflict, fear and the unbreakable bonds of family conveyed in exquisite, evocative poetry.” – Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
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<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “In a wholly original, incandescent take on the myth of Hekate, Nikita Gill captures the beauty, brutality and otherworldly strangeness of the ancient world like no other writer. This beautifully imagined tale of a Refugee Goddess's. . . quest to find her destiny among a kingdom of outcasts is both deeply moving and absolutely captivating. . . This poem is pure magic.” – Elodie Harper, bestselling author of The Wolf Den trilogy
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<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “Absolutely beautiful and soul-enhancing poems.” Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library
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<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “Gill’s poetry excels in its exploration of womanhood.” - The Independent
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<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “One of the most exciting young writers working today.” - The Stylist
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<aside> <img src="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/fire_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> “Nikita’s words are as powerful as they are beautiful. Her poems mix ideas that are both ancient and timeless, and she makes them urgent. Her voice is one of the most compelling, compassionate and creative in contemporary literature. She’s the writer we all need to read right now - she’s challenging a fearful era with real love.” - Daisy Buchanan, author of How to Be a Grown Up
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UK Publisher: Simon & Schuster, September 2025
US Publisher: Little, Brown for Young Readers, September 2025
Primary Agent: Nicola Chang
Film/ TV agent: DHA (Clare Israel)
Extent: 416 pages
Co-agents: Chinese Bardon Chinese Media; Japanese Japan Uni
Rights sold: French - Hachette Livre; Hungarian - Konyvmolykepzo Kiado
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ALREADY A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN THE UK AND NO. 1 ON THE YA NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER LIST IN THE US
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