Graeme Macrae Burnet’s BENBECULA longlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

Booker-shortlisted author Graeme Macrae Burnet’s latest novel BENBECULA has garnered its first prize nomination – a longlisting for this year’s Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. BENBECULA is published on Polygon’s Darkland Tales list, featuring retellings of Scottish history by some of the nation’s best authors. In the novel Graeme takes readers back to the 19th century Outer Hebrides and a pitch-black tale of murder and madness reminiscent of his own acclaimed HIS BLOODY PROJECT.

The Walter Scott Prize celebrates works of historical fiction, published during the last calendar year, and which are set more than 60 years ago. A shortlist will be announced in April ahead of the prizegiving at the Borders Book Festival – held at the home of Walter Scott in Abbotsford, Melrose – in June. The winner will receive £25,000, with each shortlisted author also awarded £1,500. Recent winners include Hilary Mantel, James Robertson, Lucy Caldwell, Kevin Jared Hosein and, last year’s victor, Andrew Miller (THE LAND IN WINTER).

The Abbotsford Trust, the independent Scottish charity dedicated to preserving the legacy and extraordinary home of Sir Walter Scott, said that this year’s nominees each ‘pays fitting tribute to its namesake [Walter Scott] and encompasses all the variety of story, tone and drama that, in the hands of first-class novelists, history has to offer.’ The judging panel this year comprises of Katie Grant (Chair), Rosi Byard-Jones, Rosamund de la Hey, Elizabeth Laird, James Holloway and James Naughtie.

Also on the longlist this year are:
VENETIAN VESPERS by John Banville (Faber & Faber)
THE TWO ROBERTS by Damian Barr (Canongate)
EDEN’S SHORE by Oisín Fagan (John Murray Press)
HELM by Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber)
THE PRETENDER by Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury)
BOUNDARY WATERS by Tristan Hughes (Parthian Books)
THE MATCHBOX GIRL by Alice Jolly (Bloomsbury)
EDENGLASSIE by Melissa Lucashenko (Oneworld Publications)
ONCE THE DEED IS DONE by Rachel Seiffert (Virago)
THE ARTIST by Lucy Steeds (John Murray Press)
SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood (Viking)

BENBECULA was published in the UK by Polygon and WF Howes, and in Australia by Text Publishing in October 2025; a North American edition, published by Biblioasis and Recorded Books, followed in November 2025. Spanish and Catalan editions are forthcoming from Impedimenta and crims.cat respectively.

Congratulations Graeme!

About BENBECULA

On 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate on the island of Benbecula, murdered his father, mother and aunt. At trial in Inverness he was found to be criminally insane and confined in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison.

Some years later, Angus’s older brother Malcolm recounts the events leading up to the murders while trying to keep a grip on his own sanity. Malcolm is living in isolation, ostracised by the community and haunted by this gruesome episode in his past.

From Graeme Macrae Burnet, the Booker-shortlisted author of HIS BLOODY PROJECT, comes a beguiling psychological novel set on a remote Scottish island. Based on a true story and drawing on the documentary evidence of the time, Burnet constructs a gripping narrative about madness, murder and the uncertain nature of the self.

Credit: Euan Anderson

About Graeme Macrae Burnet

Graeme Macrae Burnet was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire and now lives in Glasgow. He has also lived in the Czech Republic, France, Portugal and London.

His first novel, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ADÈLE BEDEAU (Contraband, 2014), received a New Writer’s Award from the Scottish Book Trust and was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. A second Inspector Gorski novel, THE ACCIDENT ON THE A35, was published in 2017, and the trilogy was completed in 2024 with the ‘tragic, cinematic, propulsive' (Martin MacInnes) A CASE OF MATRICIDE, which won the 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction.

HIS BLOODY PROJECT (Contraband, 2015) won the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and the Vrij Nederland Thriller of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the LA Times Mystery Book of the Year and the European Crime Fiction prize. It has been published in over twenty languages. CASE STUDY was published in 2021 by Saraband (UK), Text (ANZ) and Bolinda (UK audio) to wide critical acclaim. The North American edition was published in 2022 by Biblioasis. It has been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 and the Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Ned Kelly International Crime Prize. It has been published in fifteen languages.

Graeme was named Author of the Year in the 2017 Sunday Herald Culture Awards and has appeared at festivals and events in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Russia, Estonia, Macau, Ireland, Germany, Poland and France, as well as in the UK.

Praise for BENBECULA

‘Graeme Macrae Burnet’s recreation of a macabre incident in 19th-century Hebridean history is unrelentingly disturbing and utterly gripping' – James Robertson

‘Some crime writers are successful at creating fully-formed living, breathing characters; others are more adept at playing games with the reader: to an almost unique degree, Macrae Burnet excels at both.’ – Jake Kerridge, ‘The 21 best crime and thriller novels of 2025’, The Telegraph

‘Burnet’s vivid portrayal of a troubled household by a man attempting to explain the inexplicable is dark, intense and utterly compelling.’ – Laura Wilson, ’The best recent crime and thrillers’, The Guardian

‘Reading a novel by Graeme Macrae Burnet is unnerving because the experience always becomes physical… The more compressed and oppressive and inescapable the lives of his characters become, the tighter his books are wrapped in seeming limitations, the freer you feel as a reader… The way out of the dark hell of your own mind is to imagine yourself into the minds of others. Graeme Macrae Burnet will do anything to help get you there.’ – Ian Brown, Globe and Mail

‘BENBECULA is an elegant, eerie volume… Perhaps the most impressive feature of the novella is the sense of simmering. The bare facts are not really in dispute, but the reasons and motives are deliberately opaque. Rather than any explicit cause, Macrae Burnet conjures an atmosphere of suppression.’ – Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman

Visit Graeme’s website.

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A MOTHER’S PROMISE by Renee Salt and Kate Thompson is an instant Sunday Times bestseller

The moving and poignant true story of Renee Salt’s survival of the Holocaust, A MOTHER’S PROMISE, is a Sunday Times bestseller again, flying into the top ten of the paperback bestseller list. A MOTHER’S PROMISE was written with award-winning author and journalist Kate Thompson and reached Number 6 in the hardback bestseller list on first publication.

A MOTHER’S PROMISE is published by Seven Dials (Orion) in the UK. Alcove Press publish in the US, Simon & Schuster publish in Canada, and translation rights have been sold in Portugal, Italy, Finland, Spain and Romania.

From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers – her mother’s. Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and hope for one another.

The strength of Sala’s love gave them both something fragile yet beautiful to cling to in an ugly, depraved world. It was her mother who hid Renee, lied to the SS, went right when she was directed left – whose small actions had life-saving consequences. Now, for Renee, the need to share has finally overcome the desire to forget.

Renee’s powerful story was featured in BBC documentary ‘What Happened at Auschwitz’ in January 2025 and Renee has appeared on Sky News, ITV’s Lorraine and in Prima magazine. She also met the Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Number 10 Downing Street at a reception for Holocaust survivors.

 

Praise for A MOTHER’S PROMISE

‘Deeply moving and essential reading… It’s essential to praise the powerful structure of this book, which adds so greatly to its cumulative effect. Throughout, Renia’s recollections are printed in italics, and between those passages the writer Kate Thompson provides an excellent, beautifully written historical narrative… The trust and affection between the two women gives every page extraordinary emotional depth… keeps you on the edge of your seat with pity, horror and excitement… beautiful, uplifting testimony.’ – Bel Mooney, The Daily Mail

‘Renee Salt and Kate Thompson come together in powerful unity in a way that is both deeply moving and unforgettable. This is a story the world needs to know.’ – Madeline Martin, author of THE BOOKLOVER’S LIBRARY

‘An unforgettable story about the power of love, a story that reminds us how important hope is, a story that proves to us that human beings are remarkable and endlessly inspiring.’ – Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of THE PARIS ORPHAN

‘A powerful testament to a mother’s love during unbelievable hardship… Renee’s story of resilience and survival is powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read.’ – Elizabeth Bellak, co-author of RENIA’S DIARY

‘A privilege to read. It is a deeply moving memoir, beautifully written and researched. What a fascinating, heartbreaking story… How heartening to see the strength of family love and resilience threading through the narrative. I was engrossed from the opening… Renee’s own words are brilliantly supported by Kate’s in depth exploration of context and her well-crafted storytelling. In addition to the evocation of Renee’s past life, the narrative is fascinating from a textile history point of view, highlighting Nazi policies of plunder and exploitation… I valued the way in which she was able to share her memories, despite her deep reservoirs of pain and loss… As a dress historian I was also impressed by Renee’s sense of re-humanisation when given a wool skirt to replace the awful garments doled out at Auschwitz. I was elated when she described the profound joy of saving money from her post-war sewing work in order to treat herself to a shop-bought dress.’ – Lucy Adlington, author of THE DRESSMAKERS OF AUSCHWITZ

‘This is a most extraordinary memoir, distinctive for its detailed recollection and its fearlessness in recording the truth of what happened.  Such accounts stand against violence and tyranny for all time.’ – Rachel Hore, author of A BEAUTIFUL SPY

‘A moving portrayal of one young woman's heroic life story... Renee’s journey is one of hope through the ashes of the past.’ – Heather Dune Macadam, author of 999: THE EXTRAORDINARY YOUNG WOMEN OF THE FIRST TRANSPORT TO AUSCHWITZ

‘A powerful account of a young girl’s incredible resilience in the face of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust, Renee Salt’s memoir is needed now more than ever. A riveting read.’ – Julia Kelly, bestselling author of THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL

‘This is a book that will stay with me for a long time... A beautiful account, so movingly told.’ – Anna Stuart, author of THE MIDWIFE OF AUSCHWITZ

‘Quite simply the most important book you will read this year. It will stay with me for a very long time.’ – Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of THE LAST LIFEBOAT

 

About Renee Salt

Reene was born Rywka Ruchla Berkowitz in Zdunska-Vola, Poland, in 1929 and is a Holocaust survivor. Renee and her mother survived both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. After the Holocaust, Renee returned to her hometown to try and find any surviving members of her family. She moved in with an aunt in Paris where Renee then met her husband, Charles, a British soldier who had helped liberate Bergen-Belsen. They married in 1949 and had two children. Renee lives in northwest London and has five grandchildren. She regularly speaks in schools about her experiences during the Holocaust.

 

About Kate Thompson

Kate is an award-winning journalist, ghostwriter and novelist. She spent five years’ working on national newspapers such as the Daily Express and Daily Mail, and also on all the major national woman’s magazine titles. Her debut novel, SECRETS OF THE SINGER GIRLS, was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2015, with first week sales of over 10,000. Kate’s first non-fiction book, THE STEPNEY DOORSTEP SOCIETY, was published by Penguin in February 2019 and reached number one in the history categories on Amazon. Hodder will publish her next novel, THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIBRARIANS, in March 2026.

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO dominant at the top in South Africa after claiming the Christmas #1

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO – his latest Afrikaans-language thriller following Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido – extended its reign at the top of the South African bestseller lists, scooping the coveted Christmas #1 slot as part of a 9-week run that stretched back to its November debut. The book has now achieved the feat of exceeding 24,000 copies in its Afrikaans first-edition, and continues to reign at the top of the each of the Fiction, Afrikaans-language and South African-writers bestseller lists in South Africa.

SKORPIO was published by Human & Rousseau, an imprint of Jonathan Ball, on 31 October 2025; English-language editions (translated by K.L. Seegers) are forthcoming from Pan Macmillan in the UK, Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada, as well as translations in Germany (Aufbau), and the Netherlands (A.W. Bruna).

In SKORPIO, as an international security forum convenes in the picturesque town of Stellenbosch, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido race against time to uncover a plot that could shake international foundations. With the threat looming over the prestigious gathering of global leaders, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Congratulations, Deon!

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, and LEO enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories, before going on to win Best Adult Fiction and Book of the Year at the 2024 SA Book Awards, and the ATKV-Woordveertjies Prize for best Afrikaans Thriller.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching international audiences. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe. His latest adaptation, THE INVISIBLE (from the novel BLOOD SAFARI), starring Abbie Cornish and Dougray Scott is currently in production through M-Net, Scene23, Berkeley Media Group (BMG), and ITV Studios.

Praise for SKORPIO

‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

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