Graeme Macrae Burnet

Graeme Macrae Burnet
Burnet at The British Library in 2022
Burnet at The British Library in 2022
Born1967 (age 58–59)
Kilmarnock, Scotland
OccupationNovelist
NationalityScottish
EducationGlasgow University; University of St Andrews
Notable worksThe Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau (2014);
His Bloody Project (2015) (2015)
Website
graememacraeburnet.wordpress.com

Graeme Macrae Burnet (born October 1967) is a Scottish writer. His first novel, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, earned him the Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award in 2013, and his second novel, His Bloody Project (2015), was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize.[1][2][3] In 2017, he won the Author of the Year category in the Sunday Herald Culture Awards. One review in The Guardian described Burnet's novels as an experiment with a genre that might be called "false true crime".[4] In July 2022, Burnet's novel Case Study (2021) was named on the longlist of the Booker Prize.[5]

Personal life

Burnet was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1967. On his mother's side, he has family ties to the northwest Highlands.[6]

Career

The Herald described the Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, his first, as "a captivating psychological thriller ... very accessible and thoroughly satisfying."[7]

Burnet's second novel tells the story of a triple murder in a remote Scottish Highland community during the 1860s. His Bloody Project won the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and the Vrij Nederland Thriller of the Year Award. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, and the 2017 European Crime Fiction Prize.[citation needed] His Bloody Project has been published in more than 20 languages, including German, Russian, Chinese, French, Spanish, Persian, and Estonian.[citation needed] The Telegraph's Jake Kerridge described it as "an astonishing piece of writing" and one review in The Guardian stated that the novel "richly deserves the wider attention the Booker has brought it".[8][9]

The Accident on the A35 is a follow-up to The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau and the second part of the trilogy. It was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2018 and the Hearst Big Book Awards – Harpers Bazaar Modern Classics 2018.[citation needed]

Published by Saraband, Case Study was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.[10]

Published by Saraband in 2024, A Case of Matricide is the concluding part of his trilogy of Gorski novels.

In October 2025 Polygon published Benbecula, part of Birlinn’s Darkland Tales series[11] which sees Scottish writers re-imagine episodes from the country’s history and legend. Set on the island of Benbecula, the novella fictionalises an 1857 triple murder and is narrated by the killer’s brother.[12][13]

Awards and selected recognition

  • Shortlisted for the 2017 European Crime Fiction Prize for His Bloody Project
  • Vrij Nederland Thriller of the Year Award for His Bloody Project
  • Longlisted for the 2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for The Accident on the A35
  • Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize for Case Study
  • Longlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Benbecula[14]

Bibliography

Gorski trilogy

  • —— (2014). The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau (paperback 1st ed.). Saraband. ISBN 9781908643605.
  • —— (2017). The Accident on the A35 (paperback 1st ed.). Saraband.
  • —— (2024). A Case of Matricide (hardcover 1st ed.). Saraband.

Other

  • —— (2015). His Bloody Project (1st ed.). Contraband. The first edition was a "paperback original."
  • —— (2021). Case Study (1st ed.). Saraband. ISBN 9781913393199.
  • —— (2025). Benbecula (1st ed.). Polygon (Birlinn). ISBN 9781846977312.

References

  1. ^ "New Writers Awards 2012/13: Graeme Macrae Burnet | Scottish Book Trust". scottishbooktrust.com. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Graeme Macrae Burnet | The Man Booker Prizes". themanbookerprize.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Interview: Graeme Macrae Burnet on His Bloody Project and Man Booker Prize nomination - The Scotsman". scotsman.com. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  4. ^ Lawson, Mark (10 November 2017). "The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet review – games within games". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (26 July 2022). "Booker prize longlist of 13 writers aged 20 to 87 announced". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Major, Nick (1 January 2017). "Interview with Graeme Macrae Burnet". The Herald.
  7. ^ "Graeme Macrae Burnet: The Disappearance Of Adele Bedeau (Contraband)". Herald Scotland. 19 July 2014.
  8. ^ Kerridge, Jake (25 October 2016). "Man Booker Prize shortlist 2016: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet is a tricksy, ingenious puzzle – review". The Telegraph.
  9. ^ Jordan, Justine (12 August 2016). "His Bloody Project review by Graeme Macrae Burnet – murder in the Highlands". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Bayley, Sian (26 July 2022). "Booker Prize longlist dominated by indies as judges pick youngest and oldest ever nominees". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  11. ^ "The Darkland Tales Collection | Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher - buy books online". Birlinn Ltd. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Benbecula | Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher - buy books online". Birlinn Ltd. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet review: 'elegant and eerie'". The Scotsman. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Lucashenko's "Edenglassie" on Walter Scott Prize longlist". Books+Publishing. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Macrae_Burnet