We are delighted to announce that Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet is longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize!

This is a wonderful recognition of Graeme’s remarkable novel, set on the Hebridean island of Benbecula in 1857, following the aftermath of a triple murder. This psychological thriller evokes the time and place with incredible clarity, and we are so proud to see the book longlisted for this prestigious prize.

The prize says ‘the 2026 Longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction pays fitting tribute to its namesake 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 for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize comprises: writer Katie Grant (Chair);winner of the inaugural Young Walter Scott Prize Rosi Byard-Jones; bookshop owner Rosamund de la Hey; art historian and gallery director James Holloway; children’s writer Elizabeth Laird; and broadcaster and writer James Naughtie. To qualify for the Prize, books must be written in English, set more than 60 years ago, and have been published during 2025 in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. 

The winner receives £25,000, and each shortlisted author is awarded £1,500, setting the Walter Scott Prize amongst the highest value fiction prizes in the UK. The Prize is run by The Abbotsford Trust with support from Hawthornden Foundation, the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust, and the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry in memory of Elizabeth Buccleuch.

You can find out more information about the longlist here. Congratulations to Graeme and all the other longlisted authors!