The Wainwright Prize, a celebration of nature and conservation writing, today announces its 2025 shortlists. This year marks a bold new chapter, with three new categories reflecting the evolving landscape of environmental storytelling – particularly in how it reaches and inspires younger audiences.
Following the prizes recent expansion, The Adult’s Wainwright Prize includes the Prize for Nature Writing, the Prize for Conservation Writing and the Prize for Illustrative Books. The Children’s Wainwright Prize includes the Prize for Fiction, the Prize for Non-Fiction and the Prize for Picture Books.
The Wainwright Prize showcases writing that reflects its namesake Alfred Wainwright’s values of celebrating nature and our environment, nurturing respect for our planet, and informing readers of the threats that the earth currently faces. Prize winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 10th September 2025 at FarmED in Oxford.
Of this year’s shortlist, Alastair Giles, The Wainwright Prize Director, says: “As The Wainwright Prize enters its second decade, the need to celebrate the best in nature and conservation writing has only grown stronger. While the challenges facing our planet have never been more urgent, we’ve also seen an inspiring surge of enthusiasm from readers. The Prize aims to continue motivating people to reconnect with the environment, both physically and intellectually. With this year’s expansion to six categories, we’re especially excited to reflect the evolving landscape of environmental storytelling and champion work that engages younger generations in the care and protection of the natural world. We’re eager to see which books from our 2025 shortlist will resonate with readers and inspire action.”
Each category celebrates a unique facet of environmental writing. Dive into the full shortlists and discover stories that challenge, comfort, provoke, and inspire:
The Possibility of Tenderness by Jason Allen-Paisant (Hutchinson Heinemann, Cornerstone)
Intertidal by Yuvan Aves (Ithaka Press, Bonnier Books UK)
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Canongate Books)
Our Oaken Bones by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison (Witness Books, Ebury Publishing)
Of Thorn & Briar by Paul Lamb (Simon and Schuster UK)
The Accidental Garden by Richard Mabey (Profile Books)
Ingrained by Callum Robinson (Doubleday, Transworld)
The 2025 shortlist for The Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing includes a diverse range of titles, each offering a unique perspective on our relationship with the natural world. Callum Robinson’s Ingrained is a tribute to trees, timber, and craftsmanship, while Yuvan Aves’ Intertidal reveals an unseen world, asking us to reimagine values to live by. Paul Lamb’s Of Thorn & Briar celebrates the benefits of hedgerows and a way of living that has all but disappeared, and Merlin Hanbury-Tenison’s Our Oaken Bones connects personal history with the natural environment. Chloe Dalton’s Raising Hare chronicles an extraordinary relationship between human and animal, while Richard Mabey’s The Accidental Garden explores gardens as places of cultural and ecological fusion. Finally, Jason Allen-Paisant’s The Possibility of Tenderness explores personal and people’s history through plants and migration.
Nature’s Genius by David Farrier (Canongate Books)
Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK)
Red Pockets by Alice Mah (Allen Lane)
Climate Injustice by Friederike Otto & translated by Sarah Pybus (Greystone Books)
A Training School for Elephants by Sophy Roberts (Doubleday, Transworld)
What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales (Atlantic Books, Grove Press UK)
The Lie of the Land by Guy Shrubsole (William Collins)
The 2025 shortlist for The Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing showcases a powerful collection of books that explore the intersection of conservation, science, and the environment. In A Training School for Elephants, Sophy Roberts explores colonial greed and human-animal relationships through historic and modern narratives, while Friederike Otto’s Climate Injustice, translated by Sarah Pybus, explores how global inequality exacerbates the effects of climate change. Robert Macfarlane’s Is a River Alive? invites readers to reconnect with the rivers that sustain life, and David Farrier’s Nature’s Genius examines the extraordinary intelligence of the natural world. Alice Mah’s haunting family memoir Red Pockets explores what we owe to the places that we inhabit, and Guy Shrubsole’s The Lie of the Land investigates the landownership issues in the UK and their effect on conservation. Finally, Helen Scales’ What the Wild Sea Can Be explores the urgent need for ocean conservation.
Swoop Sing Perch Paddle by Carry Akroyd & John McEwen (Bloomsbury Wildlife)
Homecoming by Melissa Harrison & illustrated by Amanda Dilworth (W&N, Orion Publishing Group)
Insectopolis by Peter Kuper (W. W. Norton & Company)
The Perimeter by Quintin Lake (Hutchinson Heinemann, Cornerstone)
Trees in Winter by Richard Shimell (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)
Feed the Planet by George Steinmetz with Joel K. Bourne Jr. & Michael Pollan (Abrams)
The 2025 Wainwright Prize for Illustrative Books shortlist celebrates the dynamic intersection of art, storytelling, and environmental insight. This year’s finalists include Feed the Planet by George Steinmetz, with Joel K. Bourne Jr. and Michael Pollan, a striking visual journey into global food systems, and Homecoming by Melissa Harrison, beautifully illustrated by Amanda Dilworth, which is a monthly guide to the changing seasons. Peter Kuper’s Insectopolis offers a vivid, graphic exploration of the 400-million-year history of insects, while Swoop Sing Perch Paddle by Carry Akroyd and John McEwen is a lyrical blend of illustration and commentary on British birds. Also shortlisted are The Perimeter by Quintin Lake, a photographic odyssey around the UK coastline, and Trees in Winter by Richard Shimell, which captures the quiet elegance and ecological significance of winter woodlands.
Ghostlines by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold & illustrated by Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Ettie and the Midnight Pool by Julia Green & illustrated by Pam Smy (David Fickling Books)
Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Pushkin Children’s Books)
Wildlands by Brogen Murphy (Puffin Books)
Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit & illustrated by David Dean (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The shortlist for The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Fiction spotlights a rich and varied range of storytelling that inspires young readers to connect with the natural world. Among this year’s selected titles are Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold, and Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit, illustrated by David Dean, which take readers on powerful journeys through endangered habitats and animal lives. Ghostlines by Katya Balen, and Ettie and the Midnight Pool by Julia Green, illustrated by Pam Smy, both offer lyrical explorations of landscape and belonging. Completing the shortlist are Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto, a story infused with wild imagination, and Wildlands by Brogen Murphy, which explores the tension between development and wilderness through a thrilling narrative.
National Trust: Look What I Found by the River by Moira Butterfield & illustrated by Jesús Verona (Nosy Crow)
University of Cambridge: Think Big: Secrets of Bees by Ben Hoare & illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti (Nosy Crow)
MEGA by Jules Howard & illustrated by Gavin Scott (Nosy Crow)
Cloudspotting for Beginners by Gavin Pretor-Pinney & illustrated by William Grill (Particular Books)
Wildlife in the Balance by Dr Sharon Wismer & illustrated by Terri Po (Flying Eye Books)
Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin & illustrated by Louise Forshaw (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The shortlist for The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Non-Fiction celebrates engaging and accessible books that deepen young readers’ curiosity about the natural world. This year’s selection includes Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin, illustrated by Louise Forshaw, which brings readers a lively, fun, fact-packed guide to the animal kingdom, Cloudspotting for Beginners by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, illustrated by William Grill, a whimsical yet informative guide to the skies, and MEGA by Jules Howard, illustrated by Gavin Scott, which delves into the incredible world of the largest prehistoric creatures. Look What I Found by the River by Moira Butterfield, illustrated by Jesús Verona, encourages discovery in local landscapes, while Think Big: Secrets of Bees, from the University of Cambridge series, written by Ben Hoare and illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti, uncovers the vital role bees play in our ecosystems. Finally, Wildlife in the Balance by Dr Sharon Wismer, illustrated by Terri Po, showcases the planet’s most important animals and the remarkable ways they are helping to save the planet.
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield & illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin Books)
Bothered By Bugs by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots)
HERD by Stephen Hogtun (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The World to Come by Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn, illustrated by Emily Sutton (Magic Cat Publishing)
Frog by Isabel Thomas & illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Leave the Trees, Please by Benjamin Zephaniah & illustrated by Melissa Castrillon (Magic Cat Publishing)
The Wild by Yuval Zommer (Oxford University Press)
The shortlist for The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Picture Books brings together a beautifully illustrated and imaginative collection of stories that introduce younger readers to the wonders of the natural world. This year’s nominees include The World to Come, written by Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn, and illustrated by Emily Sutton, a lyrical and hopeful vision of our planet’s future. Leave the Trees, Please by the late Benjamin Zephaniah, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon, is a heartfelt call to protect our trees, and The Wild by Yuval Zommer sparks curiosity about the untamed beauty of the world around us. Bothered By Bugs by Emily Gravett, is a witty and playful exploration of the importance of all creatures, big and small, and Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang, celebrates the power of nature to bring communities together. Frog, written by Isabel Thomas and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus, follows the life cycle of this familiar amphibian with poetic clarity, while HERD by Stephen Hogtun offers a moving fable about belonging and conservation.
Two books will be crowned overall winners: one for adult writing and one for children’s writing. These titles will be named 2025 Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and 2025 Wainwright Children’s Prize Book of the Year, with each receiving £2,500. Remaining category winners will each receive £500.