The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was founded in 2010 by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Alistair Moffat.  Born from a desire to mark the very great achievements of their distant kinsman Sir Walter Scott, the Duke and Duchess wanted to celebrate the new resurgence of the genre he created.  

In 2022, thirteen novels were longlisted for the £25,000 prize, with settings spanning from the 8th century BC up to the 1960s, and from all four nations of the United Kingdom to Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the West Indies and the Punjab.  The shortlist was revealed on 12 April, and a winner announced at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland (16th-19th June).