Agnes Owens

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 Liz Lochhead. Four months later, in September 2026, Polygon will publish new editions of Bad Attitudes, introduced by Jenni Fagan, Lean Tales: 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.