Submissions
Submissions are now closed for 2023
Closing date: 13th April.
Only books first published in the UK between 1st June 2022 – 31st May 2023 are eligible.
If the book is not currently published, but is due to be published before 31st May 2023, we accept manuscripts and proofs.
Authors can be from any country as long as the title is published or readily available to all bookshop outlets in the UK (written in or translated into English).
Award categories & Criteria:
The Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing – recognises narrative-driven titles that reveal and celebrate some aspect of nature and the outdoors. Also recognises UK-based travel writing (not guidebooks) covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Recent winners include: Goshawk Summer by James Aldred (Elliott & Thompson), Pastoral by James Rebanks (Penguin) and Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty (Little Toller Press).
The Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation – recognises narrative-driven titles that make the case for nature conservation or tackling climate change.
Recent winners include: Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino (Jonathan Cape), Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (Vintage) and Rebirding by Benedict Macdonald (Pelagic).
The Wainwright Prize for Children – recognises titles in children’s publishing that emphasise the importance of inspiring young people to engage with nature and the outdoors or understanding the need for conservation or tackling climate change. The book could be illustrated, fiction or non-fiction and for children of any age.
First presented in 2022, the winner was The Biggest Footprint by Rob and Tom Sears (Canongate).
The prizes will be awarded to the work which best reflects Wainwright’s core values and includes a celebration of nature and our natural environment, or a warning of the dangers to it across the globe.
The 2023 prize fund for winning authors is being finalised, but as a guide, last year £7,500 was shared and presented to the authors.
KEY DATES
Submissions open – 16th March
Submissions close – 13th April
Longlist Announcement – 20th June TBC
Shortlist Announcement – 20th July TBC
Ceremony – 8th September TBC
The longlists in both categories will be defined from the nominations using a combination of the views of Independent Booksellers throughout the UK, specialist nature reviewers and authors.
There will be three separate and independent judging panels for the categories within the prize to select the shortlists and winners. Chairs and panel members to be revealed during May 2023.
Submissions are accepted from all publishers, small, independent or large, and must be accompanied by a copy sent by post to:
Agile Ideas,
c/o WP2023,
Studio 10,
Glove Factory Studios,
Brook Lane,
Holt,
Wilts,
BA14 6RL
Each title successfully shortlisted attracts a levy to cover the promotional costs associated with the prize including; the project management, design, publicity, production and print of all the official POS material to all retailers, including our partners and The National Trust. The exact amount of the shortlist levy is still to be confirmed. Based on the increased share of exposure, there will also be a small winners levy in 2023.
Successful publishers will be contacted by early June.