2021 Walter Scott Prize longlist revealed
23rd February, 2021
As the 250th anniversary of Scott’s birth approaches, the Walter Scott Prize is delighted to reveal its 2021 longlist. The eleven books in contention are:
HINTON Mark Blacklock (Granta)
THE TOLSTOY ESTATE Steven Conte (HarperCollins Australia)
THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER Guinevere Glasfurd (Two Roads)
A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES Kate Grenville (Canongate UK, Text Publishing Australia)
MR BEETHOVEN Paul Griffiths (Henningham Family Press)
AFTERLIVES Abdulrazak Gurnah (Bloomsbury)
A TREACHEROUS COUNTRY K M Kruimink (Allen & Unwin Australia)
THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT Hilary Mantel (4th Estate)
HAMNET Maggie O’Farrell (Headline)
ISLANDS OF MERCY Rose Tremain (Chatto & Windus)
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS Pip Williams (Affirm Press Australia, Chatto & Windus UK)
The judges said:
‘Historical fiction has not obeyed any lockdown. Instead, in this year’s new publishing, there has been an explosion of lively ideas and fresh ways of storytelling, with traditional notions of historical fiction stretched and tested. The Walter Scott Prize 2021 longlist authors – some well-established, some newer voices – challenge, charm, alarm, comfort, and electrify. Each book in its own way fulfils the WSP criteria of ambition, originality and innovation, with fine writing always the priority.
‘Readers of this year’s longlist will be spirited into jungles, political intrigues and even the pages of dictionaries; smell a most extraordinary sea; hear music never written; and touch the fourth dimension. When escape has never been more appealing, the 2021 Walter Scott Prize longlist authors will gather you up and sweep you away.’
The longlist this year includes four books from Australia, two of which are not yet published in the UK. Settings range from Tudor, Victorian and Edwardian England to Borneo, Tasmania, Indonesia, Japan, the USA, Russia and East Africa. The 2021 Prize was open to books published in the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth during 2020. You can find out more about the longlist here.
Our shortlist will be announced at the end of April, and a winner announced in mid-June. Because of the postponement of the Borders Book Festival this year the winner will be announced online and through media.
Follow developments and join the conversation at @waltscottprize and walterscottprize!