Spotlight on: new judge Kate Figes

2nd March, 2017

Writer and journalist Kate Figes joined the Walter Scott Prize judging panel earlier this year.  We asked her what she was looking forward to in becoming a WSP judge.

Kate: I spend so much of my time reading non fiction for YOU magazine that it is going to be a joy to be steeped in fiction for the judging period, and particularly historical fiction, given how bleak the present feels.  

Prize:  Why do you think historical fiction is valuable and important today?

Kate:  History reminds us of how lucky we are and how we should value the rights and freedoms we now enjoy.  

Prize:  Why should we particularly honour writers of historical fiction?

Kate:   Historical fiction requires astonishing feats of imagination in order to bring so much of the texture, colour and emotions of the past to life.