2026 is Agnes Owens’ centenary year, and Polygon is thrilled to announce the forthcoming publication of seven new editions of her novels and short stories in collaboration with the official Agnes Owens Archive, also launching this year. These new editions all begin with specially commissioned introductions from some of Scotland’s finest contemporary writers.

Agnes Owens is one of Scotland’s most original but often overlooked short fiction authors. Readers are seeking out undiscovered classics from the recent past, and these seven works are hidden literary gems that are sure to engage readers and find a wider audience. This May, Polygon will publish new editions of Gentlemen of the West, introduced by Dani Garavelli, Like Birds in the Wilderness, introduced by Kirsty Logan, A Working Mother, introduced by Kirstin Innes, and For the Love of Willie, introduced by Heather Parry. Four months later, in September 2026, Polygon will publish new editions of Bad Attitudes, introduced by Jenni Fagan, People Like That: The Collected Short Stories, introduced by William Letford, and Jen’s Party, introduced by Chitra Ramaswamy.

Agnes Owens was first published by Polygon in 1984 with her novel Gentlemen of the West. It was Peter Kravitz who was instrumental in bringing her work to Polygon. Peter was an editor at Polygon in the 1980s who focussed on and lead the field in publishing new Scottish fiction, a tradition that Polygon continues to this day.

Since 1984, Owens has been published to critical acclaim by Bloomsbury, Fourth Estate and Jonathan Cape. Her work has been praised and championed by Alasdair Gray, James Kelman, Liz Lochhead, Ali Smith and, most recently, Douglas Stuart.

In 2008, Polygon published the collected novellas and the collected short stories which featured new work. These two titles have been steady sellers and key to the Polygon backlist. The novellas were licensed from Bloomsbury, but Polygon recently acquired the rights to publish these new editions. Since then, rights to Owens’ work has been sold to the US, Italy and Spain.

The books will feature a striking new series design that features artworks by Joan Eardley. Eardley, one of Scotland’s most original and admired contemporary artists of her generation, was working and painting during the time that Owens’ books were set. Her expressive landscapes of the northeast of Scotland and her raw, yet tender, depictions of children in 1950s Glasgow perfectly capture the aesthetics of Owens’ work.

Agnes Owens was always a writer, although for the majority of her life she was preoccupied with making a living and domesticity. She married twice, brought up seven children and variously worked as a typist, cleaner and factory worker. It wasn’t until she attended an evening creative writing course – taught by Alasdair Gray, James Kelman and Liz Lochhead – that she wrote her first novel Gentlemen of the West, published in 1984 by Polygon to widespread critical acclaim; she would go on to write a further five novellas, including A Working Mother and For the Love of Willie, and three short story collections. She died in 2014.

‘I cannot wait for a new generation of readers to re-discover the work of Agnes Owens’
Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain

‘Agnes Owens’ hallmarks have been a frank irony, a deadpan gothic quality and a down-to-earth
insistence on the surreality of most people’s normality’
Ali Smith

‘Agnes Owens is the most unfairly neglected of all living Scottish authors’
Alasdair Gray

‘A literary hero’
James Kelman

‘Agnes Owens is a master of the short fiction form, and I’m thrilled to be reissuing her work in her centenary year with striking new jackets featuring artworks by Joan Eardley: no other Scottish artist could capture the aesthetic of Owens’ work so well – they complement each other perfectly. And I’m so pleased to be working with so many great writers who are each writing a specially commissioned introduction to each of the new editions, which will bring Owens’ work to a wider audience. With prose that is witty and lean, these novellas and short stories are utterly engaging. There’s a dark humour throughout each tale that elevate the bleakness of the characters’ plight, and the dialogue is pitch perfect. Her timing is impeccable, too: just when you think you know where the plot is going, there’s a clever twist in the tale that will leave you aghast – her work is ripe for rediscovery.’
Edward Crossan, Editor, Polygon

‘The Agnes Owens Literary Estate is delighted that Polygon, renowned for originally publishing Agnes Owens’ first novel, Gentlemen of the West, will be honouring her legacy by presenting a beautifully curated set of her finest works. This commemorative collection serves as a fitting tribute to Agnes Owens’ enduring literary contribution and the lasting impact of her stories. It is hoped that this new initiative will help to challenge and change the perception once voiced by Alasdair Gray, who described Agnes Owens as “the most unfairly neglected of all living Scottish authors” and to right past oversights and secure her rightful place among Scotland’s most cherished writers ensuring that her contribution continues to be recognised and celebrated for generations to come.’
John Crosbie, The Agnes Owens Literary Estate

‘Polygon’s republication of Agnes Owens’ fiction enables new generations of readers to discover this unjustly overlooked writer, remarkable for her unflinching and brilliant portrayal of hard lives, shot through with dark humour.’
Jenny Brown, Jenny Brown Associates