Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Debut author Harry Shukman has been awarded the prestigious Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award for his compelling account of infiltrating British far-right groups. Shukman’s acclaimed book, Year Of The Rat, was lauded by judging chairwoman Johanna Thomas-Corr as “investigative journalism with the nerve of a thriller and the wit of a great piece of reportage.” A former news reporter, Shukman now serves as a researcher for the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate. The book’s creation involved significant personal risk, with Shukman immersing himself in extremist circles. He spent time canvassing with Britain First and befriended Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, and a Silicon Valley-backed race-science organisation. Year Of The Rat meticulously reveals how these groups operate and normalise extreme ideologies. Ms Thomas-Corr further praised the work, stating: “By going undercover among Britain’s far-right networks, Harry Shukman reveals a world that …