Seascraper: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025

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*LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025*
*WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARDS FICTION AWARD 2025*
*WINNER OF THE WINSTON GRAHAM HISTORICAL PRIZE 2026*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2026*


Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.
When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?
Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.
SEASCRAPER is a mesmerising portrait of a young man confined in by his class and the ghosts of his family's past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment. It confirms Benjamin Wood as an exceptional talent in British literature.


'It is a sensuous treat, this novel. So much care has been given to every detail – of shrimps and sea mists and sinkpits, of work and music. A language of the sea washes over every page' Ross Raisin, award-winning author of God's Own Country



'Seascraper is powerful, poignant and poetic. I can’t recommend it enough' Benjamin Myers, award-winning author of Cuddy
'Britain's answer to Donna Tartt' Sunday Times

'A huge talent' Hilary Mantel

'What a writer' Richard Osman

© Benjamin Wood 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025