16th February, 2026

The YWSP shortlist is out!

Congratulations to the 33 young historical fiction writers shortlisted for the Young Walter Scott Prize! The shortlisters are listed below, along with the titles of their stories.  The category winners will be announced in March, ahead of the prizegiving in June at the Borders Book Festival.  Can you work out which period they may be writing about from the story titles?

16 to 19 category

Imaani Azam, Batley Carr, West Yorkshire

Born Rejected

 

Hugh Ferrier, Sherborne, Dorset

Black Thursday

 

Jess Gilbert, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Letters to Nowhere

 

Logan Gordon, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

The Poetry Lesson

 

Joshua Henson, Birmingham, West Midlands

The Gods are Athirst

 

Paul Hutchcraft, Peterborough

When Fire Rained

 

Sarah Hyde, Bedford

The Execution of a Queen

 

Mercy Ikwueze-Okolo, London

A God Called England

 

Greta Jones, West Kirby, Merseyside

A Soldier’s Tonic

 

Erica Lockett-Yeung, Birmingham

The Porcelain Dragon

 

Aaliyah Ishbel Mason, Stow, Scottish Borders

Empire of the Dust

 

Esme McBeath, Berwickshire

Gore

 

Isabelle Mugford, Eastleigh, Hampshire

Silver Like the Moon

 

Charles Russell, London

The Lost Broadcast: Diary of Liu Wei 1942-1944

 

Katherine White, Smethwick, West Midlands

Sawbones

 

11 to 15 category

Naivedya Agarwal, London,

The Surveyor

 

Tobi Barnett-Jones, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

Him, With Friends Possessed

 

Mary Ruth Dunlop, London

The Head Remembers

 

Astrid Fauque, London

For Angkar

 

Alana Harrison, Cockerham, Lancashire

Chickpea

 

Bella Helström, London

Untitled

 

Meda Kleinyte, Woodford Green, Essex

The Holy Fall

 

Sophie le Gassick, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

Three Bitter Cuckoos

 

Edith Marshall, Burscough, Lancashire

I am Tiananmen Square

 

Joshua Medland, London

The Writer’s Cricket Match

 

Chloe Papasolomontos, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire

To Die a Lady

 

Kateryna Samoilyk, Luton

Baturyn

 

Ashwin Sandhu, Lechlade, Gloucestershire

Eliza’s Adventures

 

Tasbih Sharuar, Woodford Green, Essex

The Man From Drury Lane

 

Finbar  Steven, Totnes, Devon

His Right Arm Raised

 

Alba Navarini Vazquez, London, Greater London

The Imperial Hotel

 

Lexi Wells, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

Dear Charlie

 

Annette Wong, Tunbridge Wells,

When the Eternal Ended