Myers wins 2018 Walter Scott Prize

19 June 2018 Books+Publishing

In the UK, Benjamin Myers has won the 2018 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Gallows Pole (Bluemoose Books), a novelisation of the true story of 18th-century counterfeiting gang the Cragg Vale Coiners.

He receives a cash prize of £25,000 (A$41,930). Myers was presented with his winner’s cheque by last year’s winner Sebastian Barry at an award ceremony held during the Baillie Gifford Borders Book Festival. The other shortlisted authors also receive £1000 (A$1790) each.

Chosen from a shortlist of six, The Gallows Pole was described by the judges as ‘a roaring furnace of a novel’ that brought ‘to light a little-known and fascinating fragment of rural English history’. They added that Myers met ‘the challenge for every author of historical fiction—bringing alive the past and speaking forcefully to the readers of today’.

For more information about the award, see the website.

Category: International news