Writer picks up top literature award with debut historical novel

DEBUT NOVELIST Cecilia Ekback has picked up a top literature award in historical fiction for her Nordic noir thriller, Wolf Winter.

The Swedish-born writer was presented with the 2016 Historical Writers’ Association’s (HWA) Goldsboro Debut Crown and £1,000 prize money at the Harrogate History Festival.

The Other Boleyn Girl author Philippa Gregory also walked away from the event with an award for her outstanding contribution to historical fiction - an accolade previously won by acclaimed writers such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Morpurgo.

Published in January 2015, Wolf Winter tells the story of Swedish Lapland settler Maija and her family as they try to build a new life on the forbidding Blackasen mountain.

Ekback, whose parents were also from Lapland, said: “I’m so delighted to be on the shortlist, amongst such amazing authors. I didn’t expect it.”

Her novel beat five other shortlisted books to the top prize, including Death And Mr Pickwick by Stephen Jarvis, Eden Gardens by Louise Brown, The Hoarse Oaths Of Fife by Chris Moore, Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea and Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye.

David Headley, director of Goldsboro Books, the event’s sponsor, said: “The shortlist was very strong this year.”