Graeme Macrae Burnet to write novella for Polygon's Darkland Tales series

Polygon has acquired a novella called Benbecula by Booker Prize-shortlisted author Graeme Macrae Burnet.  

Polygon editor-at-large James Crawford acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.  

Benbecula will be published by Polygon in Winter 2025 and there are already offers on the table from other international publishers. 

It will be the sixth title in Polygon’s Darkland Tales series, which sees Scottish authors reimagining key moments from Scottish history, myth and legend. Previous titles in the series include Rizzio by Denise Mina, Hex by Jenni Fagan, and most recently, Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid.

Benbecula is based on the true story of a murder committed on the titular Scottish island in 1857 when a crofter called Angus MacPhee butchered his mother and two other family members.  

Crawford said: “Graeme is the perfect author for the Darklands series – wonderfully adept at mashing up convention and genre, and a master at the darkly humorous and subversive tone that makes these books such compelling reads. It will be hugely exciting to see his thrilling vision for this latest tale make its way on to the page.” 

Burnet said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be writing a novella for Polygon’s Darkland Tales, a series that has quickly established itself as ’must-read’ for anyone interested in Scottish literature and history. I find myself immersed in a grimly fascinating murder case that has haunted me since I first came across it over a decade ago."

Dixon said: “Graeme is so brilliant at exploring the fertile borderlands of fact and fiction in his work and I’m delighted that Jamie Crawford realised how Polygon’s Darkland Tales series forms a perfect match for that sensibility. I know that readers will be utterly gripped by what Graeme makes of this historic family tragedy in the Outer Hebrides – already we’re fielding a great deal of interest in other rights.”