Walter Scott Prize
The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.[1] At £25,000, it is one of the largest literary awards in the UK.[2] 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.[3]
Eligible books must have been first published in the UK, Ireland or Commonwealth in the preceding year.[1] 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.[1] The winner is announced each June at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose.[1]
Winners and shortlist
Blue Ribbon (
) = winner
2010
The shortlist was announced 1 April 2010[4] and the winner was announced 19 June 2010 as part of the Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival which took place at Sir Walter Scott's historic home Abbotsford House in Scotland.[5]
- Hilary Mantel for Wolf Hall about Thomas Cromwell (1485–1540).
- Adam Thorpe for Hodd about Robin Hood (early medieval).
- Robert Harris for Lustrum about Cicero (106–43 BC)
- Sarah Dunant for Sacred Hearts about a 16th-century Italian convent.
- Iain Pears for Stone's Fall about an early 20th-century mystery/thriller.
- Simon Mawer for The Glass Room about 1930s Czech.
- Adam Foulds for The Quickening Maze about John Clare and Alfred Tennyson (early 19th century).
2011
The shortlist was announced on 1 April[6] and the winner was announced on 19 June:[7]
- Andrea Levy for The Long Song set in 1820s Jamaica.
- Tom McCarthy for C set in turn of the 20th-century Europe.
- David Mitchell for The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet about late 18th-century Shogun Japan.
- Joseph O'Connor for Ghost Light set in 20th-century England and Ireland.
- C. J. Sansom for Heartstone set in England during the summer of 1545.
- Andrew Williams for To Kill A Tsar set in St Petersburg around turn of 20th century.
2012
The shortlist was announced on 4 April 2012[8] and the winner was announced on 16 June.[9]
- Sebastian Barry, On Canaan's Side set in 20th-century Ireland and Chicago
- Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers set in Oregon and California in 1851
- Esi Edugyan, Half-Blood Blues set in World War II-era Europe
- Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child set in WWI-era Europe
- Andrew Miller, Pure set in Paris in 1786
- Barry Unsworth, The Quality of Mercy set in London of 1767 and a Durham coastal mining village
2013
The shortlist was announced on 18 April 2013[10] and the winner was announced on 14 June 2013.[11]
- Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists set in 1940s and '50s Malaya
- Pat Barker, Toby's Room set during WWI
- Thomas Keneally, The Daughters of Mars set during WWI
- Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies set in Tudor England
- Anthony Quinn, The Streets, set in 1880s London
- Rose Tremain, Merivel: A Man of His Time set in 1680s England
2014
The shortlist was announced 4 April 2014,[12] and the winner was announced at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, on 13 June.[13]
- Robert Harris, An Officer and a Spy concerns the Dreyfus Affair, which took place in France in the late 1890s
- Kate Atkinson, Life After Life set during the 20th century
- Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries set in the New Zealand gold rush of the 19th century
- Jim Crace, Harvest set in a remote English village following the Enclosure Act in the 18th century
- Andrew Greig, Fair Helen set in the 1590s in the Borderland of Scotland and England
- Ann Weisgarber, The Promise takes place during the 1900 Galveston hurricane
2015
The shortlist was announced 24 March 2015,[14] and the winner was announced at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, on 13 June.[15]
- John Spurling, The Ten Thousand Things China in the 14th century
- Martin Amis, The Zone of Interest Europe during WWII
- Helen Dunmore, The Lie England during WWI
- Hermione Eyre, Viper Wine England in the 17th century
- Adam Foulds, In the Wolf's Mouth Italy in WWII
- Damon Galgut, Arctic Summer India in the early 20th century
- Kamila Shamsie, A God in Every Stone India during WWI
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 Walter Scott Prize, 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
- ↑ "Booker rivals clash again on Walter Scott prize shortlist", The Guardian, 2 April 2010
- ↑ "Mantel's Wolf Hall wins inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical novels", The Scotsman, 20 June 2010
- ↑ "Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist announced". BBC News. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ↑ Alison Flood. "Andrea Levy wins Walter Scott prize", The Guardian, 20 June 2011
- ↑ "Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist announced". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ Alison Flood (16 June 2012). "Sebastian Barry wins Walter Scott prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ↑ "Shortlist for 2013 Walter Scott Prize Announced". Borders Book Festival. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ "Tan Twan Eng wins The Walter Scott Prize". Borders Book Festival. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ↑ "Walter Scott Prize Shortlist 2014". Walter Scott Prize. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ↑ "Robert Harris wins Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction". BBC News. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ↑ "2015 Shortlist announced". Walter Scott Prize. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "John Spurling wins top prize at Borders Book Festival". BBC News. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
External links
- Walter Scott Prize, bordersbookfestival.org
- "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.