Alan Parks’ GUNNER longlisted for Scotland’s National Book Awards

GUNNER – the multi-award nominated WW2 thriller by Alan Parks – has been included on the longlist for this year’s Best Fiction prize at Scotland’s National Book Awards, presented by the Saltire Society. One of the world’s oldest running prizes for literature, first awarded in 1937, Scotland’s National Book Awards celebrate the very best of Scottish writing across five categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, First Book and Research – the winners of each competing for the overall Book of the Year prize.

GUNNER, in which a war-wounded cop-turned-soldier returns to a mid-Blitz Glasgow, only to be immediately drawn into a strange and increasingly perilous murder investigation, is published in the UK by Baskerville, an imprint of John Murray, and in the US by Pegasus Books, as well as in translation in Spain, France, Italy and Holland. The book has since been recognised on the shortlist for the CWA Historical Dagger, as well as the longlists for the 2025 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. The second book in the series, DECEPTION, is out now – and will be followed by book three, TRAITOR, in Summer 2027.

Longlisted for Best Fiction alongside Alan are Damian Barr, Chris Barkley, Natalie Jayne Clark, CJ Cooke, Maureen Cullen, Andrew Meeehan, Philip Parvis, Zoe Rankin and Gerda Stevenson. The shortlists will be announced in October, ahead of the awards ceremony in late November.

Congratulations Alan!

About GUNNER

‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James

‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin

‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly

March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.

Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.

But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.

As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.

Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.

About Alan Parks

Alan Parks is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the Harry McCoy series, which has won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, the Prix Mystère de la Critique and an Edgar Award. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Joseph Gunner thrillers, an international crime series set during the Second World War.

Alan worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to writing. He now lives and works in Glasgow.

Alan Parks’ GUNNER shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association 2026 Historical Dagger award

We are thrilled to announce that Alan Parks’ barnstorming WW2-set trilogy opener GUNNER has been named on the shortlist for the Historical Dagger award at the 2026 Dagger Award – the Crime Writers' Association’s annual celebration of the very best in crime writing.

The award is given to the best crime novel set at least 50 years in the past, with the winner following in the footsteps of recent honourees Vaseem Khan, Ray Celestin, D.V. Bishop, Jake Lamar and, last year’s winner, A.J. West.

Also shortlisted this year, along with Alan’s GUNNER, are:

  • A GRANITE SILENCE by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)

  • BARVICK FALLS by Rob McInroy (Tippermuir Books)

  • THE DEVIL’S DRAPER by Donna Moore (Fly on the Wall Press)

  • THE ART OF A LIE by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

  • A CASE OF LIFE AND LIMB by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

The winner will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony at the CWA gala dinner on Thursday 2 July – a date which coincidentally also marks the publication of the second Joseph Gunner novel, DECEPTION! Whisking Joseph Gunner from Blitz-torn Glasgow to the streets of 1941 New York, DECEPTION follows Gunner as he is drawn into a Secret Service conspiracy to lead the Americans into the war – no matter what the cost.

DECEPTION is published in the UK by Baskerville, an imprint of John Murray; Pegasus Books will publish a North American edition on 1 September. Rights to the GUNNER series have also sold in Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Congratulations Alan!

About GUNNER

‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James

‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin

‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly

March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.

Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.

But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.

As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.

Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.

Photo: Euan Robertson

About Alan Parks

Alan Parks is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the Harry McCoy series, which has won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, the Prix Mystère de la Critique and an Edgar Award. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Joseph Gunner thrillers, an international crime series set during the Second World War.

Alan worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to writing. He now lives and works in Glasgow.

GUNNER by Alan Parks longlisted for 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award

Edgar Award and McIlvanney Prize-winning author Alan Parks has received his second consecutive nomination – and third overall – for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, this time with his World War Two thriller GUNNER. The award is given by a votes from both the votes from the Theakston Crime Academy and the general public – you can cast your ballot for Alan and GUNNER via the official Theakston Old Peculier Crime Award website from now until Thursday 28 May at 23:59 BST.

Presented as part of Harrogate’s annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, to be held from 23-26 July 2026, the award celebrates excellence, originality and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors. The winner – following in the footsteps of recent victors Mick Herron, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Chris Whitaker and Abir Mukherjee – will be revealed on Thursday 23 July, the opening night of the Festival, and will receive £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel.

GUNNER marks its third prize nomination, following nods for the CWA Historical Dagger and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Alan Parks’s GUNNER was published by John Murray’s Baskerville imprint in the UK last year and made its debut last month in North America, where it’s published by Pegasus Books and garnered starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Booklist. GUNNER will soon be followed by Book Two in the trilogy, DECEPTION, which whisks Joseph Gunner from Blitz-torn Glasgow to the streets of 1941 New York, following Gunner as he is drawn into a Secret Service conspiracy to lead the Americans into the war – no matter what the cost. Baskerville publish DECEPTION in the UK on 2 July, followed by Pegasus Books in North America on 1 September.

Rights to GUNNER have also sold in Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Congratulations Alan!

About GUNNER

‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James

‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin

‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly

March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.

Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.

But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.

As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.

Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.

Credit: Euan Robertson

About Alan Parks

Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city that is so vividly depicted in the 1970s setting of his Harry McCoy thrillers – and now in his WWII GUNNER series too!

He was Creative Director at London Records in the mid 1990’s, then at Warner Music, where he created ground-breaking campaigns for artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barclay and Cee Lo Green. His debut novel BLOODY JANUARY propelled him onto the international literary crime fiction scene immediately and his work has been sold in many languages and recognised by critics and prize judges alike.

BLOODY JANUARY was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière; FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award; BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER won the 2022 Edgar Award for Paperback Original, the 2023 Prix Mystère de la Critique and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel as well as being a The Times ‘Best Book of the Year’ pick; THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year in 2021, which MAY GOD FORGIVE won in 2022. MAY GOD FORGIVE was shortlisted for the 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and longlisted for the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. His work is translated into ten languages and film/TV rights have been optioned.

Praise for Alan Parks

‘One of the great Scottish crime writers’ – The Times

‘Tipped to become an enduring classic of tartan noir.’ – Sunday Post

‘Dark and gritty… Gripping.’ – Crime Monthly

‘A brilliant series’ – Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Bloody and brilliant’ – Louise Welsh (on BLOODY JANUARY)

‘Pitch-black Tartan noir: bleak, but with an emotional heart that's hard to ignore.’ – Daily Mail (on FEBRUARY’S SON)

‘Manoeuvering through the mean streets of Glasgow, the morally ambiguous, deeply flawed McCoy makes an ideal antihero.’ – Publishers Weekly (on BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER, Edgar Prize Winner 2022)

‘Altogether one of the best police thrillers of the last few years.’ – Morning Star (on THE APRIL DEAD)

Visit Alan’s website

Follow Alan on Twitter

Alan Parks’ GUNNER and Graeme Macrae Burnet’s BENBECULA longlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association 2026 Historical Dagger award

We’re delighted that both Alan Parks’ WW2-set trilogy opener GUNNER and Graeme Macrae Burnet’s dark novella BENBECULA have been longlisted for the Historical Dagger award at the 2026 Dagger Awards, the Crime Writers' Association’s annual celebration of the very best in crime writing.

Each novel has already garnered wide acclaim from critics and prize juries alike: this marks BENBECULA’s third longlisting, following mentions by the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Highland Book Prize; while GUNNER was among the contenders for last year’s McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

The shortlist for the award will be announced on 28 May, ahead of the prize-giving ceremony at the CWA gala dinner in July. Alan and Graeme were nominated alongside longlisted authors Nina Allan, Robin Blake, Kate Foster, Ariel Lawhon, Beth Lewis, Rob McInroy, Donna Moore, SW Perry, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Sally Smith.

Alan Parks’ GUNNER made its North American debut last month, published by Pegasus Books. It garnered starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Booklist and will soon be followed by Book Two in the trilogy, DECEPTION. Whisking Joseph Gunner from Blitz-torn Glasgow to the streets of 1941 New York, DECEPTION follows Gunner as he is drawn into a Secret Service conspiracy to lead the Americans into the war – no matter what the cost. Baskerville publish in the UK on 2 July, followed by Pegasus Books in North America on 1 September. Rights to GUNNER have also sold in Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Graeme Macrae Burnet’s BENBECULA is soon to be available in paperback in the UK, with Polygon publishing on 7 May. The book was named among the best of the year by both the The Times, The Telegraph and Canada’s Globe and Mail, where it was published by Biblioasis. The standalone book joins Polygon’s exceptional Darkland Tales series – where Scotland’s best writers (including Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Alan Warner and others) re-imagine true stories from the country’s past, each bringing the tales up to date with their own unique voice and identity.

Congratulations Alan and Graeme!

About GUNNER

‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James

‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin

‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly

Credit: Euan Robertson

March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.

Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.

But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.

As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.

Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.

About BENBECULA

‘Unrelentingly disturbing and utterly gripping' – James Robertson

‘Some crime writers are successful at creating fully-formed living, breathing characters; others are more adept at playing games with the reader: to an almost unique degree, Macrae Burnet excels at both.’ – Jake Kerridge, ‘The 21 best crime and thriller novels of 2025’, The Telegraph

‘Burnet’s vivid portrayal of a troubled household by a man attempting to explain the inexplicable is dark, intense and utterly compelling.’ – Laura Wilson, ’The best recent crime and thrillers’, The Guardian

Credit: Euan Anderson

On 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate on the island of Benbecula, murdered his father, mother and aunt. At trial in Inverness he was found to be criminally insane and confined in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison.

Some years later, Angus’s older brother Malcolm recounts the events leading up to the murders while trying to keep a grip on his own sanity. Malcolm is living in isolation, ostracised by the community and haunted by this gruesome episode in his past.

A beguiling psychological novel set on a remote Scottish island, based on a true story and drawing on the documentary evidence of the time, Burnet constructs a gripping narrative about madness, murder and the uncertain nature of the self.