Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2026 shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced, reports the Bookseller.
The shortlisted titles are:
- Benbecula (Graeme Macrae Burnet, Text)
- The Matchbox Girl (Alice Jolly, Bloomsbury)
- Once the Deed Is Done (Rachel Seiffert, Virago)
- The Pretender (Jo Harkin, Bloomsbury)
- Seascraper (Benjamin Wood, Penguin UK).
The judges said the shortlisted novels “probe intimate lives lived in both small and big settings.
“Readers will hear voices usually unheard but which, once heard, won’t be forgotten. The shortlist choice is always difficult, but our authors each reveal the hidden, and in doing so offer new insights into our own times as well as the times in which their novels are set.”
This year, for the first time, all 5 books on the shortlist are written by British authors, while last year the majority of shortlisted writers were Australian. Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie (UQP, 2023) had appeared on the 2026 longlist.
The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on 12 June. The winner receives £25,000 (A$47,141), while each shortlisted author is awarded £1500 (A$2829).
To qualify for the award, books must have been written in English, should be largely set more than 60 years ago, and must have been published during 2025 in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth.
Category: International awards International news
