Niara Knox

For this project, I started by deciding which story I wanted to adapt. I have always been fascinated by the story of Icarus and thought it would be interesting to adapt it into the future using the aesthetic of retro futurism, a style I find really compelling. I started by writing the copy. Based on the feedback I was given from my pitch I decided to add a subtle afro-futuristic element. I wanted to make my story one of freedom and escape from societal limitations rather than a cautionary tale of hubris. The completed book has a gold cover that opens upward to the story of Icarus, a black kid in a retro futuristic society that wanted to fly. In this world I created, Icarus is told by his father that people like them aren’t allowed to fly which I purposefully kept vague but wanted to provide some nod to discrimination that readers could infer. His father is a mechanic and tells Icarus that he can help him build robotic wings for others which Icarus does for a few years. At a certain point Icarus gets fed up with having to watch others fly off with wings he built and never getting to experience it himself and decides to steal some from his father’s workshop. He takes the wings, runs away and flies off into the sky. He keeps going higher passing the stars until the wings begin to freeze. Like the original story, Icarus begins to fall but he is at peace. He knows that since he has broken the law, nothing is left for him back on the ground and accepts his fate. He becomes an angel and continues to soar throughout the stars.