Polygon has acquired World all language rights for Merryn Glover’s new novel The Light of All Things, which will be published in 2027. Polygon Editor Edward Crossan procured the rights from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown Literary Agency.
The Light of All Things is a novel about survival and storytelling, about the fragile line between truth and myth, and about the friendships that carry us through unimaginable darkness. With echoes of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, and Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, it explores how memories and bonds shape our lives across time.
Merryn Glover is an accomplished writer of fiction and non-fiction, and she was appointed the first Writer in Residence for the Cairngorms National Park, where she lives. Her short story ‘Burning Bush’, which features the central character Pete Delany from The Light of All Things, was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award and was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 just last week. Merryn’s novel, Of Stone and Sky (2021), was winner of the Bookmark Book Festival Book of the Year and longlisted for the Highland Book Prize. The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd (2023) was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.
‘I am thrilled to be bringing out this book with Polygon, a fine and fiercely independent Scottish publisher, with a global reach and top-flight production values.The Light of All Things is the book of my heart, a novel going deep into my origins in the mountains of Nepal and stretching to the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne where a very old man tells a story that changes everything.’
–Merryn Glover, Author
Polygon Editor Edward Crossan also commented, saying, ‘I’m thrilled to have acquired The Light of All Things, a moving tale that I was completely captivated by. It’s a novel about nature, endurance, redemption and the fragility of life, a tender story of friendship and human connection. The writing is lyrical, beautifully evocative and wonderfully descriptive; each page sings with life and the music of birdsong. I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on The Light of All Things.’
Polygon Rights Director Fiona Brownlee has already sold rights to Australia and New Zealand, and the book will be published by HarperCollins, Australia. ‘There is just something about this novel that won my heart instantly – it is so clear, profound and beautiful,’ says Catherine Milne, Publisher and Head of Fiction at HarperCollins, Australia, ‘A novel of unexpected friendships, atonement, loss and mountains, this is gorgeous, tender, moving and powerful storytelling, humming with vivid life. As soon as I started reading it, I knew I wanted it for my list, and I can’t wait for Australian readers to meet Pete and Maya.’
Merryn’s Literary Agent, Cathryn Summerhayes says, ‘Absolutely thrilled that Merryn is continuing her successful partnership with the team at Polygon with both fiction and non-fiction titles. Edward Crossan and the team have nurtured Merryn’s career throughout turbulent publishing times and we couldn’t be happier with the results.’
Two prisoners of war make a promise in the depths of a Japanese labour camp: if they survive, they will climb a mountain together. Decades later, that promise leads them to the Himalayas and 64 years after that to a bedside confession in a care home in Melbourne.
As the 100-year-old man’s recollections fracture and reform, the truth of what happened on the mountain begins to emerge. At his bedside, his carer, a young woman from Nepal records his thoughts and begins to realise that her own family history is woven into his memories of the past.
Rich in nature writing – alive with birdsong, botany, and the shifting moods of the mountain – The Light of All Things is a story where the natural world mirrors the inner lives of its characters. At its heart, The Light of All Things is a story of friendship, inheritance, and how a ‘good life’ is measured.
Polygon will publish in the UK in September 2027 and HarperCollins will publish in Australia in 2028.
Merryn Glover was born in a former Rana palace in Kathmandu and grew up in Nepal, India and Pakistan. Her first major work was a stage play, The Long Way Home, which was broadcast on Radio Scotland. She has written three further radio plays for Radio 4 and Radio Scotland. Merryn’s first novel, A House Called Askival (2014), was published by Freight. Her second, Of Stone and Sky (2021) was published by Polygon and is set in the Highlands where she now lives. In 2019, she was appointed the first Writer in Residence for the Cairngorms National Park, and in 2023, The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd was published by Polygon.
