James Cropper Wainwright Prize 10th Anniversary Celebration and Longlist Announcement

Thursday 13^th July: The James Cropper Wainwright Prize – named after much-loved nature writer Alfred Wainwright and created to celebrate connection with nature and the outdoors – today announced their 10^th anniversary plans and revealed the 2023 longlist.

• In celebration of the 10^th Anniversary, the Prize will return to Kendal in the Lake District where Alfred Wainwright worked and lived, to host an exclusive festival-style celebration of the prize and its legacy.
• The James Cropper Wainwright Prize 10^th Anniversary Celebration will be held in partnership with the Kendal Mountain Festival on 14^th September and will feature specially curated author events and the announcement of the winners of the 2023 prize.
• In the 10 years since the prize’s inception, there has been a significant increase in sales of nature books and an upsurge in interest in the climate, the healing power of nature, and the natural world around us. We are in a golden age of nature writing.
• Longlists were selected from a record number of submissions showcasing the diversity and depth of nature writing, including: Raynor Winn, Patrick Barkham, Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Stephen Moss, Mya-Rose Craig, Annie Proulx, Guy Shrubsole, Katya Balen, M. G. Leonard, Dara McAnulty, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Katherine Rundell.
• For the first time in the prize’s 10-year history, women dominate all three longlists.
• The winning authors will share an increased prize pot of £10,000 to honour the 10th anniversary.
• Olga Prinku is announced as official James Cropper Wainwright Prize artist for 2023.

A total of 36 books have been longlisted for the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize with 12 in each category – the Prize for Nature Writing, the Prize for Writing on Conservation, and the Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation. The longlists were selected from a record number of submissions, marking a golden age of nature writing.

For the first time in the prize’s history – women dominate all three longlists, with 26 of the 36 titles having been written by female authors, including Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Mya-Rose Craig, Katherine Rundell and Kiran Millwood Hargrave. To honour the 10^th anniversary, this year’s prize fund will be increased to £10,000 which will be shared amongst the winning authors.

The 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing Longlist (alphabetical order by author surname):

• The Swimmer: The Wild Life of Roger Deakin, Patrick Barkham (Hamish Hamilton)
• The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness, Amy-Jane Beer (Bloomsbury)
• Where the Wildflowers Grow, Leif Bersweden (Hodder)
• Twelve Words for Moss, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett (Allen Lane)
• Cacophony of Bone, Kerri ní Dochartaigh (Canongate)
• Sea Bean, Sally Huband (Hutchinson)
• Ten Birds that Changed the World, Stephen Moss (Faber)
• A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast, Dorthe Nors, translated by Caroline Waight (Pushkin)
• The Golden Mole: And Other Living Treasure, Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Talya Baldwin (Faber)
• Belonging: Natural histories of place, identity and home, Amanda Thomson (Canongate)
• Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, Alice Vincent (Canongate)
• Landlines, Raynor Winn (Penguin)

The 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation Longlist (alphabetical order by author surname):

• Sarn Helen: A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future, Tom Bullough, illustrated by Jackie Morris (Granta)
• Beastly: A New History of Animals and Us, Keggie Carew (Canongate)
• Rewilding the Sea: How to Save Our Oceans, Charles Clover (Ebury)
• Birdgirl, Mya-Rose Craig (Jonathan Cape)
• The Orchid Outlaw, Ben Jacob (John Murray)
• Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time, Kapka Kassabova (Jonathan Cape)
• Rooted: How Regenerative Farming Can Change the World, Sarah Langford (Viking)
• Black Ops and Beaver Bombing: Adventures with Britain’s Wild Mammals, Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall (Oneworld)
• Forget Me Not, Sophie Pavelle (Bloomsbury)
• Fen, Bog, and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and its Role in the Climate Crisis, Annie Proulx (Fourth Estate)
• The Lost Rainforests of Britain, Guy Shrubsole (HarperCollins)
• Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval, Gaia Vince (Allen Lane)

The 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation Longlist (alphabetical order by author surname):

• The Earth Book, Hannah Alice (Nosy Crow)
• The Light in Everything, Katya Balen, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Bloomsbury)
• Billy Conker’s Nature-Spotting Adventure, Conor Busuttil (O’Brien)
• Protecting the Planet: The Season of Giraffes, Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton (Walker)
• Blobfish, Olaf Falafel (Walker)
• A Friend to Nature, Laura Knowles, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Welbeck)
• Spark, M. G. Leonard (Walker)
• A Wild Child’s Book of Birds, Dara McAnulty (Macmillan)
• Leila and the Blue Fox, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illustrated by Tom de Freston (Hachette Children’s Group)
• The Zebra’s Great Escape, Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie (Bloomsbury)
• Archie’s Apple, Hannah Shuckburgh, illustrated by Octavia Mackenzie (Little Toller)
• Grandpa and the Kingfisher, Anna Wilson, illustrated by Sarah Massini (Nosy Crow)

The Nature Writing Prize judging panel is chaired by TV presenter Ray Mears; CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, Craig Bennett, is the Chair of Judges for Writing on Conservation; and Communications & Campaigns Director of National Trust, Mark Funnell, chairs the Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation.

Speaking on behalf of the prize, Alastair Giles, Director said:

“We’re thrilled to have reached such an important milestone. Reflecting a general drive amongst the population to reconnect with nature and an upturn in reading in the genre over this period, the prize has also proved a valuable platform for the wonderful flowering of British talent in Nature writing over the last 10 years. Bestselling authors such as; James Rebanks, John Lewis-Stempel, Raynor Winn, Helen Macdonald, Isabella Tree, Dara McAnulty, Amy Liptrot and Robert MacFarlane are amongst the many to have been recognised by the prize over the last decade and we can’t wait to see which books from a vintage 2023 longlist will be championed by the judges in the Lakes in September.”

The prize’s shortlists will be announced on 10^th August, and the winners will be announced live on 14^th September at the James Cropper Wainwright Prize 10^th Anniversary Celebration, held in partnership with the Kendal Mountain Festival. Tickets are available from today: https://tickets.kendalmountainfestival.com

The prize was founded and is still supported by both the Alfred Wainwright Estate and Frances Lincoln, the publisher of the Wainwright Guides.

Mark Cropper, James Cropper Chairman and one of the judges of this year’s Prize comments:

“We’re over the moon to be bringing the James Cropper Wainwright Prize home to Kendal in a 10-year anniversary celebration befitting this fantastic accolade.

Having produced bespoke papers for Alfred Wainwright’s wonderful Pictorial Guides; hosting the ceremony close to our mill in the town where Alfred Wainwright lived and worked is a very special moment.”

 

This year’s visual campaign for the Prize will be produced in partnership with the talented dried flower embroiderer, Olga Prinku, who grows and forages for materials in North Yorkshire. Having always been a keen crafter, Prinku’s current work combines dried and preserved flowers and other plant-based materials with tulle fabric to create intricate motifs drawn from nature and traditional folkloric embroidery patterns that reflect both the fragility and strength of the natural world.

Olga Prinku comments:

“I take inspiration for my work from long walks in the countryside – observing how nature changes through the seasons, and how there’s beauty in plants that are often overlooked, and in every stage of a plant’s life cycle. I’m honoured to be part of a prize that’s named after a man whose name is synonymous with long country walks, and that aims to inspire more people to develop their love and appreciation of the natural world around us”.

For further information about the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize please contact
Annabelle Wright, Emma Dowson or Sabina Maharjan at ed public relations on annabelle@edpr.co.uk / edowson@edpr.co.uk / sabina@edpr.co.uk

For more information about James Cropper please contact Carie Barkhuizen on 07843 082084 / carie@seymourpr.co.uk or Tracey Warmington on 07590 410387 / tracey@seymourpr.co.uk

Tickets for the James Cropper Wainwright Prize 10^th Anniversary Festival, held in partnership with the Kendal Mountain Festival, are available now: https://tickets.kendalmountainfestival.com