Debut Author Secures Prestigious Award for Undercover Investigation into British Far-Right Networks
First-time author Harry Shukman has been honoured with the highly regarded Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award for his gripping narrative detailing the infiltration of British far-right groups. Shukman's celebrated work, titled Year Of The Rat, received extensive praise from the judging panel for its courageous investigative approach and literary merit.
Judges Hail Work as Courageous and Timely Investigative Journalism
Johanna Thomas-Corr, who chaired the judging committee, described the book as "investigative journalism with the nerve of a thriller and the wit of a great piece of reportage." She emphasised that Shukman's undercover work exposes a world that is "by turns sinister, absurd and frighteningly close to the mainstream." Thomas-Corr further noted that the publication represents exactly the kind of bold, timely work that the prestigious prize exists to celebrate.
Shukman, previously employed as a news reporter and currently serving as a researcher for the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate, undertook considerable personal risk during his research. He immersed himself deeply within extremist circles, spending time canvassing alongside Britain First activists while simultaneously developing connections with Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, and a race-science organisation backed by Silicon Valley funding.
Fellow Judges Applaud Narrative Tension and Compassionate Insight
Additional judges expressed profound admiration for Shukman's literary achievement. Esteemed author Esther Freud remarked that Year of the Rat "reads like the perfect thriller", highlighting its nail-biting tension, dark humour, unexpected compassion, and urgent contemporary relevance. Television presenter Graham Norton added that the work consistently defied his expectations, delivering a brave, humane, and nuanced portrait of a hidden world that many would prefer to ignore.
The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award is widely recognised as the most influential literary prize for emerging authors across both the United Kingdom and Ireland. The honour includes a substantial financial prize of £10,000. Previous distinguished recipients of this accolade, formally known as The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award, include internationally acclaimed literary figures such as Sally Rooney, Zadie Smith, Max Porter, and Simon Armitage.
Through meticulous research and daring fieldwork, Shukman's book systematically reveals how these extremist groups operate and work to normalise their radical ideologies within broader society. The award underscores the continuing importance of investigative journalism in exposing and understanding the mechanisms of political extremism.
