“The task of the writer is to take the past out of the archive and relocate it in a body.”

Hilary Mantel, Reith Lecture 2017 

THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE

 I've loved historical fiction all my life. When I was a child, Geoffrey Trease was my favourite author. The Crown of Violet plunged me into the luminous light of ancient Athens, with all its political skulduggery. Cue for Treason swept me into the theatrical world of Tudor England. I thrilled to the stories of courage and comradeship in the Roman novels of Rosemary Sutcliffe.

 I was honoured and delighted to be invited to join the judging panel when the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was established by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch in 2009, and I've remained a judge ever since.

 The prize has its base at Abbotsford in the Scottish Borders, the romantic home of Sir Walter Scott, whose legacy the prize celebrates. It's awarded every year in June at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose. But although its roots are in Scotland, the prize has a world-wide reach, being open to books first published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. Every year, a rich and fascinating mix of stories from many parts of the world is set before the judges. It's never easy to choose between them.

To find out more, go to http://www.walterscottprize.co.uk

this year’s winner

The winner of this year’s Walter Scott Prize is Andrew Miller, for his wonderful book The Land in Winter. This is what the judges said about the book: ‘A true master craftsman, Andrew Miller has painted big themes on a subtle canvas of tiny detail. With rare and delicate skill, The Land in Winter opens up the lives of Bill and Rita, Eric and Irene in ways that will sing differently to each reader, and sing differently again on each re-reading. With prose as softly dazzling as the snow of the 1962/63 winter in which the novel is set, Andrew Miller takes his richly deserved place amongst the Walter Scott Prize pantheon of great contemporary writers.’

  • Andrew photographed in the garden of Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott’s house on the banks of the Tweed.

  • The Land in Winter is set in a remote English community during the long, hard winter of 1962/63. The Prize’s definition of ‘historical’ is a book set at least 60 years ago, meaning Miller’s novel fell just within the criterion.

  • Andrew receives his prize from the Duke of Buccleuch at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose.

  • The other books shortlisted for the prize were The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry, Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, The Mare by Angharad Hampshire, The Book of Days by Francesca Kay and The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.

THE YOUNG WALTER SCOTT PRIZE

If you are aged between 11 and 19 and interested in history and writing, the YWSP is ready to take you on an adventure. We are the UK’s only creative writing prize specifically for budding historical fiction writers. You could win a £500 travel grant, tickets to one of the UK’s best book festivals, and the chance to see your own work in print in a special anthology. Stories must be between 800 and 2,000 words, and set in a time before you were born. I’m honoured to be a judge of the Young Walter Scott Prize too. Check out the details here: https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/young-walter-scott-prize/

This year’s Young Walter Scott Prize winners were also announced at the Borders Books Festival in Melrose on 12th June. And here they are!

  • The two winners, Katherine White on the left and Sophie Berry on the right are photographed in the grounds of Abbotsford with the house itself in the background. Katherine won the younger age group (11-16) for her story A Bog; A Blaze. Sophie won the older age group (16-19) for her story The Red Road.

  • Sophie Berry with Andrew Miller, winner of the adult’s prize, in the Abbotsford garden

  • Connie Schoales with Sophie Berry at the Borders Books Festival. Connie was runner up in the older age group for her story Isabella.

  • All fourteen entries in the winner, runner-up and highly commended categories have been published in Adventures in Time Travel, illustrated by Tom Morgan-Jones. To order a free copy of the book, or to download a pdf of the collection, click on this link. https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/young-walter-scott-prize/