Granta Books scoops Doom Painting and a second untitled novel by A K Blakemore

Granta Books has acquired Doom Painting and a second untitled novel by A K Blakemore, whose debut The Manningtree Witches (Granta Books) won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2021 and was shortlisted for the Costa Prize, and whose second novel The Glutton (Granta Books) was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.

Publishing director Bella Lacey acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Zoe Ross at United Agents, for publication in September 2026, while US rights have been sold to Scribner.

“Doom Painting is a bold and thrilling retelling of the Peasants’ Revolt in the 14th century, over 16 days from its origin in East Anglia until the murder at Smithfield of its leader Wat Tyler,” the synopsis says. “Unfolding hour by hour through the perspectives of the impoverished and rebellious men at the centre of the Great Uprising, the townsfolk they encounter on their march, members of the royal court, and King Richard II, this exhilarating, dramatic novel takes us inside a defining event in history which, in its exploration of class struggle, inequality and political oppression, still resonates powerfully today.”

Lacey said: “The Peasants’ Revolt, now part of socialist lore and a symbol for those poorer in society giving voice to their experience of oppression, is the perfect subject for A K Blakemore’s electric new novel as is its mercurial, opportunistic and fascinating central character Wat Tyler. One of the most talented novelists at work today, A K Blakemore writes with such flair and confidence, such keen sympathy for her characters, and I can’t think of a better modern day ‛chronicler’ of the Great Uprising, nor a more fitting historical subject for this particular moment of the 21st-century.”

Blakemore added: “From Bonfire Nights spent on Blackheath as a child to visiting friends on John Ball Walk in Colchester, I’ve somehow always felt the fire and blood of the Great Revolt of 1381, and the men and women who took part in it, lurking at the periphery of my imagination. Doom Painting is my most ambitious novel to date, and feels a fitting end to an unplanned trilogy of novels concerned with social oppression, political unrest and the lives of those denied a place at the table.”