Tenth Walter Scott Prize Longlist announced

6th March, 2019

The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, now in its tenth year, is delighted to announce its longlist!

The Longlist of twelve is:

Little  by Edward Carey (Gallic Books)

A Long Way From Home  by Peter Carey (Faber)

After The Party  by Cressida Connolly (Viking)

Washington Black  by Esi Edugyan (Serpent’s Tail)

The Western Wind  by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape)

Dark Water  by Elizabeth Lowry (riverrun)

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free  by Andrew Miller (Sceptre)

Warlight  by Michael Ondaatje (Jonathan Cape)

The Wanderers  by Tim Pears (Bloomsbury)

The Long Take  by Robin Robertson  (Picador)

All The Lives We Never Lived  by Anuradha Roy (Maclehose Press)

Tombland  by C J Sansom (Mantle)

The Judges said:

“Since its founding in 2009, the Walter Scott Prize has grown in standing and is now a trusted kitemark for the very best historical fiction from the UK and Ireland, as well as a platform from which to introduce exciting voices from the Commonwealth.

“Our tenth longlist features wonderful stories from both the recent and distant past, with diverse settings; from jostling cities and insular villages to vast open spaces and wild oceans. We meet some unforgettable characters – an Australian long-distance rally driver; a diminutive Swiss orphan who becomes Madame Tussaud; a middle-class English housewife caught up in Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement; a young man ‘freed’ from slavery on a journey across the globe.  Choosing a shortlist from these corkers is going to be a tough task for the judges.”

What do you think of our longlist?  Join the debate on twitter, instagram and facebook #walterscottprize

A further list of twenty superb books recommended by the Prize’s Academy is also unveiled today – go to our news post on the Academy list here.