The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010. At £25,000, it is one of the largest literary awards in the UK. The award was created by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, whose ancestors were closely linked to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott, who is generally considered the originator of historical fiction with the novel Waverley in 1814.
Eligible books must have been first published in the UK, Ireland or Commonwealth in the preceding year. For the purpose of the award, historical fiction is defined as being that where the main events take place more than 60 years ago, i.e. outside of any mature personal experience of the author. The winner is announced each June at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose.
Recipients
Year | Author | Title | Story and setting | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Hilary Mantel | Wolf Hall | Thomas Cromwell (1490s–1532) | Winner | |
Adam Thorpe | Hodd | Robin Hood (early medieval) | Shortlist | ||
Robert Harris | Lustrum | Cicero (106–43 BC) | |||
Sarah Dunant | Sacred Hearts | 16th-century Italian convent | |||
Iain Pears | Stone's Fall | Early 20th-century mystery/thriller | |||
Simon Mawer | The Glass Room | 1930s Czech | |||
Adam Foulds | The Quickening Maze | John Clare and Alfred Tennyson (early 19th century) | |||
2011 | Andrea Levy | The Long Song | 1820s Jamaica | Winner | |
Tom McCarthy | C | Turn of the 20th-century Europe | Shortlist | ||
Joseph O'Connor | Ghost Light | 20th-century England and Ireland | |||
C. J. Sansom | Heartstone | England during the summer of 1545 | |||
David Mitchell | The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet | late 18th-century Shogun Japan | |||
Andrew Williams | To Kill a Tsar | St. Petersburg around the turn of the 20th century | |||
2012 | Sebastian Barry | On Canaan's Side | 20th-century Ireland and Chicago | Winner | |
Esi Edugyan | Half-Blood Blues | World War II-era Europe | Shortlist | ||
Andrew Miller | Pure | Paris in 1786 | |||
Barry Unsworth | The Quality of Mercy | London of 1767 and a Durham coastal mining village | |||
Patrick deWitt | The Sisters Brothers | Oregon and California in 1851 | |||
Alan Hollinghurst | The Stranger's Child | World War I-era Europe | |||
2013 | Tan Twan Eng | The Garden of Evening Mists | 1940s and '50s Malaya | Winner | |
Hilary Mantel | Bring Up the Bodies | Thomas Cromwell (1532–1536) | Shortlist | ||
Rose Tremain | Merivel: A Man of His Time | 1680s England | |||
Thomas Keneally | The Daughters of Mars | WWI | |||
Anthony Quinn | The Streets | 1880s London | |||
Pat Barker | Toby's Room | WWI | |||
2014 | Robert Harris | An Officer and a Spy | Dreyfus Affair, which took place in France in the late 1890s | Winner | |
Andrew Greig | Fair Helen | 1590s in the Borderland of Scotland and England | Shortlist | ||
Jim Crace | Harvest | remote English village following the Enclosure Act in the 18th century | |||
Kate Atkinson | Life After Life | during the 20th century | |||
Eleanor Catton | The Luminaries | New Zealand gold rush of the 19th century | |||
Ann Weisgarber | The Promise | 1900 Galveston hurricane | |||
2015 | John Spurling | The Ten Thousand Things | China in the 14th century | Winner | |
Kamila Shamsie | A God in Every Stone | India during WWI | Shortlist | ||
Damon Galgut | Arctic Summer | India in the early 20th century | |||
Adam Foulds | In the Wolf's Mouth | Italy in World War II | |||
Helen Dunmore | The Lie | England during WWI | |||
Martin Amis | The Zone of Interest | Europe during World War II | |||
Hermione Eyre | Viper Wine | England in the 17th century | |||
2016 | Simon Mawer | Tightrope | France WWII | Winner | |
Patrick Gale | A Place Called Winter | early 20th century Saskatchewan | Shortlist | ||
Allan Massie | End Games in Bordeaux | France WWII | |||
Gavin McCrea | Mrs Engels | 19th century England | |||
Lucy Treloar | Salt Creek | mid-19th century Australia | |||
William Boyd | Sweet Caress | 20th century global | |||
2017 | Sebastian Barry | Days Without End | US Civil War | Winner | |
Jo Baker | A Country Road, a Tree | WWII France | Shortlist | ||
Francis Spufford | Golden Hill | 18th century New York | |||
Graham Swift | Mothering Sunday | 1924 | |||
Hannah Kent | The Good People | 19th century Ireland | |||
Rose Tremain | The Gustav Sonata | Switzerland during WWII | |||
Charlotte Hobson | The Vanishing Futurist | Russia early Soviet era | |||
2018 | Ben Myers | The Gallows Pole | Yorkshire 18th century | Winner | |
Paul Lynch | Grace | 19th century Ireland | Shortlist | ||
Jennifer Egan | Manhattan Beach | WWII New York | |||
Rachel Malik | Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves | WWII | |||
Jane Harris | Sugar Money | 18th century Martinique and Grenada | |||
Patrick McGrath | The Wardrobe Mistress | 1940s London | |||
2019 | Robin Robertson | The Long Take | American, post WWII | Winner | |
Peter Carey | A Long Way From Home | 1950s Australia | Shortlist | ||
Cressida Connolly | After the Party | 1938 England | |||
Andrew Miller | Now We Shall Be Entirely Free | 1809 Spain | |||
Samantha Harvey | The Western Wind | 1491 | |||
Michael Ondaatje | Warlight | 1945 London | |||
2020 | Christine Dwyer Hickey | The Narrow Land | 1950s, Cape Cod | Winner | |
Marguerite Poland | A Sin of Omission | late 19th century, South Africa and England | Shortlist | ||
Joseph O'Connor | Shadowplay | 1878, London | |||
Isabella Hammad | The Parisian | pre-WWI, Europe, Palestine | |||
Tim Pears | The Redeemed | WWI, West Country, England | |||
James Meek | To Calais, in Ordinary Time | 14th century, England | |||
2021 | Hilary Mantel | The Mirror & the Light | Thomas Cromwell (1536–1540) | Winner | |
Kate Grenville | A Room Made of Leaves | early colonial period, Australia | Shortlist | ||
Maggie O'Farrell | Hamnet | late 16th century, Stratford-upon-Avon | |||
Pip Williams | The Dictionary of Lost Words | 1880s–1920s, Oxford | |||
Steven Conte | The Tolstoy Estate | 1812 and 1941, Russia | |||
2022 | James Robertson | News of the Dead | Fictitious Highland glen through three different eras | Winner | |
Andrew Greig | Rose Nicholson | Scotland of the 1570s | Shortlist | ||
Amanda Smyth | Fortune | Caribbean oil rush of the 1920s | |||
Colm Tóibín | The Magician | Twentieth-century Europe, seen though the life of Thomas Mann | |||
2023 | Lucy Caldwell | These Days | Northern Ireland, Belfast Blitz 1940s | Winner | |
Adrian Duncan | The Geometer Lobochevsky | Rural Ireland 1800s | Shortlist | ||
Robert Harris | Act of Oblivion | England 17th century | |||
Elizabeth Lowry | The Chosen | England, Thomas Hardy 1800s | |||
Fiona McFarlane | The Sun Walks Down | South Australia 1800s | |||
Simon Mawer | Ancestry | Crimea and England 1850s | |||
Devika Ponnambalam | I Am Not Your Eve | Tahiti, Paul Gauguin 1800s | |||
2024 | Kevin Jared Hosein | Hungry Ghosts | Harrowing epic set in 1940s Trinidad | Winner | |
Tom Crewe | The New Life | Gay community in 1890s London | Shortlist | ||
Joseph O'Connor | My Father's House | Jews and POWs escape from the Gestapo in WWII Rome | |||
Kai Thomas | In the Upper Country | Underground Railroad refugees resettle in 1800s Ontario, Canada | |||
Rose Tremain | Absolutely and Forever | Broken relationships in 1960s London and Paris | |||
Tan Twan Eng | The House of Doors | Murder mystery and end of colonialism in early 20th C Penang, Malaysia |
Notes
- Scott subtitled his first historical novel “Waverley; or, ‘Tis Sixty Years Since.”
References
- ^ Walter Scott Prize Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, bordersbookfestival.org. Retrieved April 2012.
- "Historic fiction award honours Sir Walter Scott", BBC, 27 January 2010
- "New Walter Scott prize to honour historical novels", The Guardian, 2 February 2010
- Lea, Richard (21 June 2010). "Hilary Mantel wins Walter Scott historical fiction prize for Wolf Hall". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist announced". BBC News. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Prize". Shelf Awareness. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Prize Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Flood, Alison (1 April 2010). "Booker rivals clash again on Walter Scott prize shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Flood, Alison (20 June 2011). "Andrea Levy wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist announced". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Alison Flood (16 June 2012). "Sebastian Barry wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- "Awards: Walter Scott; David Gemmell". Shelf Awareness. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Indies Choice; E.B. White; Jackson Poetry; Walter Scott". Shelf Awareness. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Prize; Amazon Breakthrough Novel". Shelf Awareness. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Tan Twan Eng wins The Walter Scott Prize". Borders Book Festival. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Shortlist for 2013 Walter Scott Prize Announced". Borders Book Festival. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Prize; Commonwealth Short Story". Shelf Awareness. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Robert Harris wins Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction". BBC News. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- "Awards: Bailey's Women's; Waterstones Children's; Walter Scott". Shelf Awareness. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Walter Scott Prize Shortlist 2014". Walter Scott Prize. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- "Awards: Walter Scott for Historical Fiction". Shelf Awareness. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "John Spurling wins top prize at Borders Book Festival". BBC News. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- "Awards: James Beard; Walter Scott". Shelf Awareness. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "2015 Shortlist announced". Walter Scott Prize. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- "Awards: Walter Scott for Historical Fiction Winner". Shelf Awareness. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "The winner of the 2016 Walter Scott Prize is announced!". Walter Scott Prize. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Awards: Tony Ryan; Jim Baen; Walter Scott". Shelf Awareness. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "The 2016 Shortlist is announced!". Walter Scott Prize. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Historical Fiction; Pritzker Military Writing". Shelf Awareness. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Danuta Kean (19 June 2017). "Sebastian Barry's 'glorious and unusual' novel wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- "Awards: Marfield for Arts Writing; Dylan Thomas; Walter Scott". Shelf Awareness. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Danuta Kean (28 March 2017). "Walter Scott prize for historical fiction unveils 2017 shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- "Awards: Walter Scott; PubWest; Maine Literary; Center for Fiction". Shelf Awareness. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Benjamin Myers wins Walter Scott Prize 2018". BBC News. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- "The 2018 Prize". Walter Scott Prize. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Historical Fiction; Ondaatje". Shelf Awareness. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott and RSL Encore Winners". Shelf Awareness. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Carey shortlisted for 2019 Walter Scott Prize". Books+Publishing. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Historical Fiction; Int'l. Dylan Thomas". Shelf Awareness. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Winner". Shelf Awareness. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Christine Dwyer Hickey wins the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for The Narrow Land". Walter Scott Prize. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- Alison Flood (12 June 2020). "Fictional portrait of Jo and Edward Hopper wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Walter Scott historical fiction prize shortlist revealed". BBC.com. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- "Awards: Walter Scott, Trillium Winners". 2021-06-18. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Mark Chandler (8 June 2021). "Mantel wins £25k Walter Scott Prize for second time". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist; PEN America Literary". Shelf Awareness. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Shortlist for the 2021 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction announced". Walter Scott Prize. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021 – via Sunday Times (South Africa).
- "Awards: Walter Scott, Griffin Poetry Winners". Shelf Awareness. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist; RSL Ondaatje Longlist". Shelf Awareness. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Salt, Rebecca (15 June 2023). "Lucy Caldwell wins 2023 Walter Scott Prize for These Days -". The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- Schaub, Michael (30 June 2023). "Winner of the 2023 Walter Scott Prize Is Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- "The 2023 Shortlist -". The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- "Walter Scott Prize 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
External links
- Walter Scott Prize
- "Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction: The new time-travellers", Scotsman.com, 19 June 2010 – examines a rising interest in historical fiction in relation to the new prize.