Longlist announced
25th February, 2015
The Chairman and Judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction today, 24th February 2015, announced a longlist of fifteen books for 2015.
The longlisted books are:
THE ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis
THE TEMPORARY GENTLEMAN by Sebastian Barry
THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton
THE LIE by Helen Dunmore
VIPER WINE by Hermione Eyre
IN THE WOLF’S MOUTH by Adam Foulds
MR MAC AND ME by Esther Freud
ARCTIC SUMMER by Damon Galgut
WAKE by Anna Hope
THE WAKE by Paul Kingsnorth
THE UNDERTAKING by Audrey Magee
A GOD IN EVERY STONE by Kamila Shamsie
THE ARCHITECT’S APPRENTICE by Elif Shafak
THE TEN THOUSAND THINGS by John Spurling
THE PAYING GUESTS by Sarah Waters
The Chair of Judges, Alistair Moffat, commented on behalf of the judging panel:
“Even at longlist stage, we found ourselves vexed at the selection we had to make from the record number of entries this year (124). The quality of the historical novels published in 2014 has been exceptional, and writers, whether inspired by landmark anniversaries, or encouraged by the reading public’s growing appetite for good books set in the past, have produced an extraordinary array of time-machine novels this year. Our longlist is usually twelve but, given the strength of published work this year, and our decision to make it public for the first time, we have expanded the longlist to fifteen. We hope that by publishing the longlist, we can help point readers to some of the very best historical fiction published in the year.”
In a change to prize protocol this year, the longlist is made public for the first time, and a shortlist announcement event in London will be held on 24th March. These new developments have been prompted by an increase in entries to the prize (of 40% from 2014), and the high quality of historical fiction being currently published, reflecting the gathering prestige of the prize as it enters its fifth year.
The judging panel will announce the shortlist – usually of six books – on 24th March. The winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2015 will then be announced at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose in Scotland, on 13th June 2015.