Shortlist announced for tenth Walter Scott Prize

The six-book 2019 shortlist Credit: StonehillSalt PR

The shortlist for the 2019 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced today.

The £25,000 prize, which was founded in 2009, will be awarded at the Baillie Gifford Borders Book Festival on Saturday 15th June.

The shortlist is:

  • A Long Way From Home by Peter Carey (Faber)

  • After The Party by Cressida Connolly (Viking)

  • The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape)

  • Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)

  • Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Jonathan Cape)

  • The Long Take by Robin Robertson (Picador)

The Judges said:

The judging panel is made up of seven judges; Alistair Moffat (chair), Elizabeth Buccleuch, Katharine Grant, James Holloway, Elizabeth Laird, James Naughtie and Kirsty Wark.

The Walter Scott Prize, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, was founded by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch to honour the legacy and achievements of Sir Walter Scott, inventor of the historical novel.

Previous winners include Hilary Mantel, Andrea Levy, Sebastian Barry, and Robert Harris. The winner receives £25,000, and shortlisted authors each receive £1,000.

More information about the prize’s tenth anniversary will be announced later this year.