Judges
Explore the 2024 Wainwright
prize judging panels
The judging panels for our three categories bring together industry expertise, experience from some of the UK’s largest nature charities, authors, activists, booksellers, and scientific researchers. The Nature Writing Prize judging panel is chaired by Biologist and Natural History Museum Podcaster, Dr Khalil Thirlaway; Joycelyn Longdon, PhD student at Cambridge University and Founder of Climate in Colour is the Chair of Judges for Writing on Conservation; and Roisin Taylor, Co-Director at UK Youth for Nature, chairs the Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation.
Nature Writing
Judging Chair
Dr Khalil Thirlaway
Khalil is a science communicator, storyteller and co-host of the Natural History Museum’s Wild Crimes and Our Broken Planet podcasts who specialises in finding creative ways to connect with audiences. His work explores the intersections between science, nature, society and politics.
The Panel
Nature Writing
Katrina Clarke
Bookseller at Mr B’s Emporium, Bath
Nature Writing
Karen Brazier
Co-owner of FOLDE Bookshop
Nature Writing
Ash Bhardwaj
Travel Writer, Filmmaker and Storyteller
Nature Writing
Soraya Abdel-Hadi
Writer, Coach, and Founder of All the Elements
Nature Writing
Lee Schofield
Naturalist and Nature Writer
Writing on Conservation
Judging Chair
Joycelyn Longdon
Joycelyn is an award-winning environmental justice researcher and educator, currently completing a PhD at Cambridge University working with bioacoustics – essentially Shazam for nature – and local forest communities in Ghana for biodiversity conservation. She is also the founder of ClimateInColour, an online education platform and community for the climate curious, making climate conversations more accessible, diverse and hopeful. Joycelyn has worked with a wide range of organisations including Greenpeace, Meta, Samsung, The UN, Channel 4 and Oxford University. She is a TEDx Alumni and was 2022’s winner of the Emerging Designer London Design Medal. Most recently she was featured in British Vogue’s December 2023 ‘Forces for Change’ Issue and has been listed as one of Pique Action and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE’s 2024 Climate Creators to Watch.
The Panel
Writing on Conservation
Alex Try
RSPB Director of Strategic Communications
Writing on Conservation
Tristram Stuart
Author and Activist
Writing on Conservation
Fatima Ibrahim
Co-Executive Director of Green New Deal
Writing on Conservation
Craig Bennett
CEO UK Wildlife Trusts
Writing on Conservation
Mark Funnell
Communications & Campaigns Director National Trust
Children's Writing on Nature and Global Conservation
Judging Chair
Roisin Taylor
Roisin Taylor is co-director for UK Youth for Nature, a nature friendly flower farmer and Nuffield farming scholar from the north-east of England. Roisin grew up in the countryside on a steady diet of children’s books like Brambley Hedge, Beatrix Potter and Where’s Ted? She is looking forward to getting back to her roots and delving into judging for the Children’s category of the Wainwright prize!
The Panel
Children's Writing on Nature and Global Conservation
Frann Preston Gannon
Children’s Illustrator and Author
Children's Writing on Nature and Global Conservation
Konnie Huq
Blue Peter Presenter and Children’s Author
Children's Writing on Nature and Global Conservation
Dan Green
Editor of The Week Junior
Children's Writing on Nature and Global Conservation
Uju Asika
Children’s Author and Consultant
