2022 Walter Scott Prize shortlist revealed!
12th April, 2022
The judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction today announced the shortlist of four books going forward for the £25,000 award. The shortlist is:
ROSE NICOLSON Andrew Greig (Riverrun)
NEWS OF THE DEAD James Robertson (Hamish Hamilton)
FORTUNE Amanda Smyth (Peepal Tree Press)
THE MAGICIAN Colm Tóibín (Viking)
Featuring two Scots, one Irishman and an Irish-Trinidadian, the shortlist is the first in the prize’s thirteen-year history not to include an English writer, and the first to be composed of four books. Settings include the riven and violent Scotland of the 1570s; a fictitious Highland glen through three different eras; the Caribbean oil rush of the 1920s; and twentieth-century Europe, seen though the life of one of its most celebrated writers, Thomas Mann.
The judges said:
‘Debate at Walter Scott Prize meetings is always lively. Hard choices must be made. But informed, as always, by the WSP’s criteria of ambition, innovation, enduring appeal and quality of writing, the four books on our shortlist shone brightly in this year’s firmament. We hope readers will celebrate the art and craft of each, and enjoy four very different tales very differently told.’
The winner will be announced at a special event at the Borders Book Festival on Friday 17th June 2022, which also honours the winners of the prize’s counterpart for young writers, the Young Walter Scott Prize. The shortlisted authors will be taking part in live online video interviews for the prize during the month of May. Follow us on social media to get all the latest information.
You can find out more about each of the four books on the shortlist here.