Walter Scott Prize longlist 2016

Congratulations to Sarah Moss, Anthony Quinn, Patrick Gale and Simon Mawer, who have all been longlisted for the 2016 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction! Sarah Moss is longlisted for SIGNS FOR LOST CHILDREN (Granta Books, 2015), Anthony Quinn for CURTAIN CALL (Jonathan Cape, 2015), Patrick Gale for A PLACE CALLED WINTER (Tinder Press, 2015), and Simon Mawer for TIGHTROPE (Little Brown, 2015).

The Chair of Judges, Alistair Moffat, commented on behalf of the panel:

"2015 saw both a flowering and broadening of the historical fiction genre that is the backbone of the Walter Scott Prize. The thirteen books that make up our longlist are the most illuminating, entertaining, and sweeping of those submissions that fitted our rules on timespan. The judges and readers who collate the longlist had to make difficult decisions, and also had to ask pertinent questions about the nature of fiction that flows between the past and the present. What is the relationship between contemporary recollection and the reliability of memory? Where does history cease and myth begin? Walter Scott was the first in a long line of authors who have transformed history into stories that transport the reader straight into the epicentre of another time and place, where characters live and feel, and are pounded by forces beyond themselves. We believe that this is the central strength of the books that make up our 2016 longlist, and we salute the authors that make this great literary genre thrive and move forward."

The shortlist will be announced in March and the winner will be announced at the Borders Book Festival on 18th June. 

The full list of nominations can be read here.