2024 Judges

Katie Grant - Chair

Katie Grant,  the Chair of Judges, is a novelist, columnist and Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund (RLF), writing under the name Katharine Grant. She lives in Glasgow but grew up on the edge of the Lancashire moors. Her book Blood Red Horse, the first of the de Granville Trilogy, was a Booklist Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth and a USBBY-CBC Outstanding International Book for 2006. The sequel, Green Jasper was shortlisted for the 2006 Royal Mail Scottish Children’s book award in the 13-16 category. She has ten novels published to date (Puffin, Quercus, Virago in UK and Walker & Company and Henry Holt in USA), and Sedition, her first novel for adults was longlisted for the 2014 Desmond Elliott prize. Katie was the RLF Writing Fellow at the University of Glasgow (2011-2014). She runs creative writing workshops and as an RLF Consultant Fellow runs workshops and structured writing retreats for academics at all levels. She also founded the RLF Bridge, a writing development programme for pupils in their final year at school. She has written columns for most newspapers in Scotland and is an occasional book reviewer, including for the New York Times. Katie joined the WSP judging panel in 2017.

James Holloway

 James Holloway was Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery from 1997 to 2012, and began his career there in 1983.  James graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art at London University, has honorary doctorates from Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Edinburgh, and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty, The Queen in 2012. He is a trustee of The Abbotsford Trust (Sir Walter Scott’s home in the Borders), the Honorary Curator of the National Trust for Scotland and is a Director of the Historic Environment Scotland Foundation and the Fleming Wyfold Art Foundation. He is also a consultant with Bonham’s auctioneers.  James joined the WSP judging panel in 2017.

Elizabeth Laird

Elizabeth Laird is an award-winning children’s author. Born in New Zealand to Scottish parents, she has lived and worked in Ethiopia, Malaysia, Iraq, Lebanon and Austria, and has travelled extensively in India, Palestine, Jordan and Pakistan. She has written over 30 novels, many of which tell the stories of children from those regions.  In 1996, she worked with the British Council to set up the Ethiopian Story Collecting project and over 300 stories collected from traditional Ethiopian storytellers are now available to read in English and Amharic at www.ethiopianfolktales.com.  Her own books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have won or been shortlisted for many awards, including the Children’s Book Award, the Scottish Children’s Book Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Medal.   Her teachers’ notes for books including the story of two Syrian refugees, Welcome to Nowhere and A House Without Walls, have now been downloaded hundreds of times from her website www.elizabethlaird.co.uk.
Elizabeth Laird has been a judge of the Walter Scott Prize since its inception in 2009, and is also a founding judge of the Young Walter Scott Prize.

James Naughtie

James Naughtie is one of the country’s best-known broadcasters. He presented Today on BBC Radio 4 for 21 years, and is now a special correspondent for BBC News. He also presents Radio 4’s monthly Bookclub. During his career, Naughtie has anchored BBC radio coverage of British and American presidential elections, and written and introduced numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television. He has written books on contemporary politics and classical music, and his latest novel in the Will Flemying thriller series was published in March 2023.  Jim joined the Walter Scott Prize judging panel in 2016.

Saira Shah

Saira Shah is an award-winning author and film-maker. She has made a number of acclaimed documentaries, including Channel Four’s ‘Beneath the Veil’ and ‘Unholy War,’ for which she travelled undercover in the Taliban’s Afghanistan.

In 2002 She was named UK Television Reporter of the Year for her work in Afghanistan. Her documentary films have won numerous other prizes, including two BAFTAs, three Emmys and three Royal Television Society awards.

She is the author of two books. Her memoir The Storyteller’s Daughter, about her time in Afghanistan, won the Prix Napoli in 2004. Her novel, The Mouseproof Kitchen, draws very loosely on her experiences as the mother of a profoundly disabled child.

Currently, she divides her time between London and southern Europe. She is the mother of six year old twins.  Saira joined the judging panel in 2023.

Kirsty Wark

Kirsty Wark is one of Britain’s most distinguished broadcast journalists. She has presented a wide range of programmes from news and current affairs to the arts, including the BBC’s flagship nightly current affairs show Newsnight and Radio 4’s Start the Week. She has won several major awards for her work including BAFTAs for Journalist of the year and Best Television Presenter.  She is the author of two novels, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle and The House by the Loch. Kirsty joined the Walter Scott Prize judging panel in 2012.