19th March, 2026
YWSP winners are announced!
The winners of the 2025 Young Walter Scott Prize have been announced! First place in the 11-15 years category is Tasbih Sharuar (above left), whose delightful story The Man From Drury Lane takes us to Covent Garden in the early 1800s as the ‘muffin man’ of nursery rhyme lore delivers warm bakes and compassion to people on the streets. First place in the 16-19 years category is Erica Lockett-Yeung (above right), whose masterful story The Porcelain Dragon is based on the real-life character of Dorothea Lange, a photographer commissioned to document the relocation of Japanese Americans rounded up for internment in San Francisco after the US declared war on Japan in 1941. You can travel back in time to London in 1803 and San Francisco in 1942, and read the two stories by clicking on the links below!
Erica Lockett-Yeung The Porcelain Dragon – Erica Lockett-Yeung
The two winners each receive a £500 travel grant, their stories are published in this year’s Young Walter Scott Prize Anthology, and they will be special guests at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, in June, to be presented with their prizes.
You can see the full list of all 33 winners, runners-up and highly commended young writers in our news post here. All the stories will feature in the Anthology which will be available for free from mid-June, by contacting us with your postal address.
Watch this space for more features and insights on our two winners, and congratulations to all!