Kevin Jared Hosein’s Hungry Ghosts cops £25,000 prize

TT writer Kevin Jared Hosein has won the 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction with his novel Hungry Ghosts, which tells the story of marginalised Hindu communities in Trinidad during the 1940s.

The judging panel, which included Kirsty Wark, James Naughtie, Elizabeth Laird, Saira Shah and James Holloway, and was chaired by writer Katie Grant, said the book is “richly imaginative, urgent and compelling.”

“Hosein has triumphed with a many-layered tale woven with the dexterity and alchemy of the true story-teller,” the panel added.

Hungry Ghosts, the panel said, plunges us into the turbulence of precarious lives struggling to flourish amid the vivid natural lushness of 1940s Trinidad.

According to Hosein the 1940s was when “British colonial rule was loosening” and “Trinidad was starting to be reborn.”

Hosein, who lives in TT, worked as a secondary school biology teacher for over a decade. He is the author of two previous novels and won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018.

Hosein collected his prize at a June 13 prizegiving ceremony at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scottish Borders.

He said it was “a privilege to be shortlisted and to have TT be represented on such an impressive stage.”

“Moreover, I feel like I am accomplishing the dreams of my ancestors when they first crossed those dark seas from India almost two centuries ago.”

The prizegiving event was something of an historic moment in itself, with a descendant of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora honoured by direct descendants of Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) and the Dukes of Buccleuch – with whom Scott had a close family relationship.

Hosein was awarded the £25,000 by Walter Scott’s great-great-great-great grandson, Matthew Maxwell Scott.

Maxwell Scott is a trustee of his ancestor’s residence, Abbotsford, where an independent trust now manages the prize, with support from Hawthornden Foundation, the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust, and the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry in honour of Elizabeth Buccleuch.

A news release on June 13 said Abbotsford is Scott’s “romance in stone,” a place built on the proceeds of books and filled with a love of storytelling.

Maxwell Scott said: “As Scott was the inspiration for the genre of historical fiction, we hope this year’s nominees and winner can inspire many more authors in their writing careers. Those of us involved in preserving Abbotsford and Scott’s legacy could not be prouder to associate ourselves with this wonderful prize and its supremely gifted recipients.”

The Walter Scott Prize, which was founded in 2009, is one of the UK’s major literary awards, with previous winners including Sebastian Barry, Robert Harris, Andrea Levy and Hilary Mantel. It is open to novels published in the previous year in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth.

The books must be written in English and set at least 60 years ago, echoing the subtitle of Walter Scott’s most famous work, Waverley: “’Tis 60 years since.”

The Duke of Buccleuch also sponsors the Young Walter Scott Prize, a creative writing prize for 11-19 year-olds, encouraging the exploration of historical writing and research.

Walter Scott Prize 2024 shortlist:

The New Life by Tom Crewe

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas

Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng