Walter Scott Prize

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a prestigious British literary award. Winners have been announced each year since 2010. First prize winners receive £25,000 and shortlisted authors receive £1,500 each. Around 13 novels are announced as contenders in the longlist and 5 to 6 books are selected for the shortlist.

The winners are determined by a judging panel of seven members. The 2023 judging panel consists of novelists, children's book authors, journalists, broadcasters, and prominent members of British art trusts and foundations.

Eligibility for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

The Walter Scott Prize is eligible for novels published in the UK, Ireland, or the Commonwealth in the past year. The story must take place at least 60 years back, and it cannot be based on the personal experiences of an author. Books must be submitted by publishers before the contest deadline.

History of the Walter Scott Prize

The Walter Scott Prize (WSP) was established in 2009. It was founded by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, along with Alistair Moffat, the director of the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland. The Buccleuch family are distant relatives of the Scottish writer, Sir Walter Scott, and established the prize to honor his accomplishments and to support present historical fiction writers.

The first Walter Scott Prize was awarded to Hilary Mantel in 2010 for her novel, Wolf Hall (2009). The prize was awarded at Sir Walter Scott's home called Abbotsford in the Scottish Borders.

In 2011 the Walter Scott Prize was awarded at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, where is presented to this day.

Fig. 2 - Melrose is a town in the south of Scotland known for Melrose Abbey.

While originally the award was only available for novels published in the UK and Ireland, in 2012 books published in British Commonwealth countries became eligible as well.

In 2015 the Young Walter Scott Prize was launched, awarding young people of ages 11 to 19 for their creative historical fiction writing efforts.

In 2016 the Walter Scott Prize Academy was founded.

Walter Scott Prize Winners

The winners of the Walter Scott Prize include:

1. 2010—Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. 2011—The Long Song (2010) by Andrea Levy
3. 2012—On Canaan’s Side (2011) by Sebastian Barry
4. 2013—The Garden of Evening Mists (2012) by Tan Twan Eng
5. 2014—An Officer and a Spy (2013) by Robert Harris
6. 2015—The Ten Thousand Things (2014) by John Spurling
7. 2016—Tightrope (2015) by Simon Mawer
8. 2017—Days Without End (2016) by Sebastian Barry
9. 2018—The Gallows Pole (2017) by Benjamin Myers
10. 2019—The Long Take (2018) by Robin Robertson
11. 2020—The Narrow Land (2019) by Christine Dwyer Hickey
12. 2021—The Mirror & the Light (2020) by Hilary Mantel
13. 2022—News of the Dead (2021) by James Robertson

Walter Scott Prize Novels

Here is a deeper look into three novels that have won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

2010 Winner: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall is a historical novel set in the time period between 1500 to 1535, during Thomas Cromwell's rise to power in King Henry VIII's court, after Sir Thomas More's death. The book follows the life of Thomas Cromwell, a man who comes from a working-class family in England and ends up being the right-hand man of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the advisor of the king.

Fig. 3 - Thomas Cromwell lived from 1485 to 1540 and was briefly the Earl of Essex.

In addition to winning the WSP, Wolf Hall won the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

2013 Winner: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

The Garden of Evening Mists is a novel by the Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng. The book follows a woman named Teoh Yun Ling, who was in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. She later becomes a Supreme Court Judge in Malaysia dealing with war crime cases. Teoh Yun Ling apprentices a Japanese gardener she hopes will help her design a memorial garden for her sister who was also a war prisoner but did not survive.

In addition to winning the Walter Scott Prize, The Garden of Evening Mists won the Man Asian Literary Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The book was made into a film produced by HBO Asia that was released in 2019.

2022 Winner: News of the Dead by James Robertson

News of the Dead ties together the stories of Glen Conach, a fictional place in the mountains of northeast Scotland. Robertson makes this fictional glen concrete by giving it a unique history. His novel spans centuries, detailing the experience of the glen from the perspective of an 18th-century Christian hermit who writes a medieval manuscript about it, a 19th-century man who studies antiques and seeks a translation of the hermit's manuscript, and a 21st-century woman living in the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Young Walter Scott Prize

The Young Walter Scott Prize is a historical fiction story writing competition for people between the ages of 11 and 19. Winners of this creative writing contest receive a £500 travel grant, an invitation to the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, and the opportunity to have their writing published in the Young Walter Scott Prize Anthology.

Winners of the Young Walter Scott Prize

The winners of the Young Walter Scott Prize (YWSP) are split into two categories by age: 11 to 15 years old and 16 to 19 years old.

The 2021 Young Walter Scott Prize winner for the 11 to 15 years category was a 14-year-old from Oxfordshire, England named Leo Wilson. Leo Wilson wrote a story called "For the Love of the Sun," which is set in China before the Cultural Revolution. Wilson spoke to his grandmother about her experiences and memories of living in communist China. He said that he works on his writing for half an hour each day for a month in order to perfect his stories and make sure every line is impactful.

The 2021 Young Walter Scott Prize winner for the 16 to 19 years category was an 18-year-old from Glasgow, Scotland named Oliver Dhir. Oliver Dhir wrote a story called "A Lost Generation," which is about the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Dhir said he hopes to represent LGBTQ+ people in his work and remember the lives of HIV/AIDS victims.

Walter Scott Prize Announcements at The Borders Book Festival

The winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is announced at the annual Boarders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland. The book festival includes talks, readings, and performances by a series of writers and entertainers from around the world. The 2022 Borders Book Festival took place from June 16th to the 19th.

Along with the announcement of the first prize winner, the Borders Book Festival honors the Young Walter Scott Prize winners and hosts talks for shortlisted authors to discuss their books.