Historian Marcus Rediker wrote or co-wrote four books about Benjamin Lay leading up to the release of the documentary film, Becoming Benjamin Lay, in 2026.
Rediker began research on Lay in 2013 and published a scholarly biography with Beacon Press entitled The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist, in 2017. Soon after the book was published, he began to work with playwright Naomi Wallace on what would become The Return of Benjamin Lay, a play that had its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre in London in the summer of 2023 and subsequent productions, in 2025, in Pittsburgh, New York, and Philadelphia. Rediker then teamed up with Paul Buhle and artist David Lester to produce Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel, which was published by Beacon Press in 2021 and aimed primarily at younger readers. The next project was working with writer Michelle Markel and artist Sarah mann to create a book for children, ages 4-8, entitled Fearless Benjamin: The Quaker Dwarf who Fought Slavery, published by PM Press in 2025.
Becoming Benjamin Lay represents another important step in bringing Benjamin back to public memory.
