THE 2026 winner of the Winston Graham Historical Prize was revealed last night at a ceremony at Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery in Truro.

Author Benjamin Wood receives a cheque for £3,000 for his fifth novel, Seascraper, published by Penguin Random House. Set in Northern England in the 1960s, it has been described by critics as “timeless”, with a cinematic setting and a captivating protagonist.

“It's a great honour,” he said. “More and more, I've come to understand that the atmosphere of a story's setting is the thing which most informs and motivates my process as a fiction writer, and this is particularly true of Seascraper, which I built from memories, experiences, and research into the heritage of my hometown of Southport.

“I was so pleased to have been shortlisted alongside four authors whose work is so varied and exceptional, and I'm delighted my book has been given this meaningful recognition.”

Run by the Royal Institution of Cornwall, the charity which operates the museum, the Winston Graham Historical Prize celebrates writing with a strong sense of place and is named in honour of the Poldark novelist, who lived in Perranporth and made the Cornish landscape famous.

Graham researched and wrote some of his material at the museum, and the typewriter he used to write the Poldark novels can be found in the Heart of Cornwall Gallery; his son, Dr Andrew Graham, made a speech during the presentation ceremony.

A large crowd of guests gathered to see which of the five shortlisted authors would scoop the prestigious accolade, following a rigorous process carried out by volunteer readers and a panel of expert judges consisting of Winston’s daughter-in-law and distinguished academic Peggotty Graham, chair of judges and author Charlotte Hobson, authors Patrick Gale and Wyl Menmuir, book blogger Cathy Johnson, and editor/arts administrator Sravya Raju.

The rest of the shortlist, described as “essential reading in its entirety” by Patrick Gale, was as follows: Helm by Sarah Hall (Faber & Faber), The Two Roberts by Damian Barr (Canongate), The Pretender by Jo Harkin and Time of The Child by Niall Williams (both published by Bloomsbury).

Last year’s winner, The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, took the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction prize a week after the Winston Graham ceremony.

“Historical fiction seems to be experiencing a period of ascendancy in the literary world at the moment, with historical novels scooping many of the major fiction prizes recently,” said Charlotte Hobson. “The variety, freshness and power of our shortlisted titles are more evidence of the talent now choosing this genre.”

Museum co-director Bryony Robins said: “The buzz around the prize seems to grow year-on-year, fuelled by support from our many brilliant local independent bookshops as well as Waterstones here in Truro, which will host the Winston's Wordsmiths young writers award next week.

“Our Winston Graham connection is a great opportunity to celebrate Cornwall as an inspiring setting for writers, but also the museum as a place where anyone can discover endless creative writing prompts as they explore our collections.”