THE author of a fiction book that has taken the nation by storm says he is thrilled to have been invited to the Marlborough Litfest.

Scottish writer Graeme Macrae Burnet gained national attention after his second novel, His Bloody Project, was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize for fiction.

Now the Kilmarnock-born writer has agreed to speak at the festival, which runs between September 28-October 1, where he will promote his next book, The Accident on the A35, which is a psychological thriller.

"I am delighted to be appearing at the Marlborough festival as it is clearly a very prestigious event with a great pedigree," he said.

"It is really interesting for me to hear how readers from different parts of the country, and different countries, respond to His Bloody Project, so I am very much looking forward to it.

"I have appeared at a good number of literary festival including Glasgow’s Aye Write, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cheltenham, Adelaide, Macau and, this week, Los Angeles.

"Over the summer I will be in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Estonia. They are really fun.

"For a less well-known writer like myself, to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, it is completely life-changing.

"Not only is it a great experience in itself, but your book is catapulted into the eyeline of a huge number of readers, so there’s obviously a great impact on sales.

"Perhaps even more importantly in the long term, the reach of the prize is truly international, so my books are now being published all over the world."

Mr Burnet joins the likes of award-winning writers such as Will Self, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner OBE and spy writer Jon Stock will also feature in the hugely popular event.

Litfest committee member Kay Newman said: "Mr Burnet really is a wonderful addition to the growing list of great writers coming to this year's Litfest. To get shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize is an incredible achievement.

"I absolutely adored his book. It is an intriguing story and is just beautifully written so I cannot wait to have him here so I can ask him all about it.

"I am also very excited to hear about his new book too. This year really is shaping up to be a great event."