Walter Scott Prize 2025: Historical Fiction Award

The victor of the 2025 Walter Scott Reward will certainly be disclosed on 12th June in a real-time occasion at the Borders Book Event in Melrose, Scotland, and will certainly get ₤ 25,000. Each shortlisted author is awarded ₤ 1,500.

Judges’ Perspective: Literary Canvas

Katie Grant, chair of this year’s judges, claimed: “From the adventures of young fighters in the Peloponnesian battle in Sicily in the 5th century BC, to a tender tale of households separated at home in the wonderful British winter freeze of 1962/3, the shortlisted stories for this year’s Walter Scott Reward paint a vast literary canvas of splendor and subtlety. They are a celebration of storytelling, incorporating a tale of retribution and settlement in post-occupation Netherlands, a picture of household claustrophobia in Tudor England, a thrilling cross-country adventure with the Wild West, and a revelatory expedition of evil– under a thick social disguise– in 1950s New York City. Together, the books highlight the founding principles of the prize, bringing stories set in the past right into our very own time, with great creating that is infused with passion and originality to generate stories guaranteed to live long in the memory.”

Abbotsford Trustee: Historical Fiction’s Value

Matthew Maxwell Scott, great-great-great-great grandson of Walter Scott, and Trustee of Abbotsford, claimed: “The very best historical fiction is moist fact– it likewise tells us exactly how the past really felt, and holds a mirror to the present. By identifying the very best writing, the objective of the reward is to inspire more people of all ages to find the happiness and value of historical fiction, to provide both established and arising writers a bigger readership, and to unite audiences, authors and viewers to celebrate and question each other. It is consequently wholly proper that this shortlist statement comes straight from Abbotsford, the home of excellent historic fiction.”