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The Wainwright Prize · award year

Wainwright Prize 2024

The 2024 Wainwright Prize went to Foxlight by Katya Balen (Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation), Late Light: The Secret Wonders of a Disappearing World by Michael Malay (Nature Writing) and Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World by Helen Czerski (Writing on Conservation). 21 books made the shortlist and 35 the longlist across 3 categories.

Winners

Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation

  1. Foxlight by Katya Balensource (opens in a new tab)

Nature Writing

  1. Late Light: The Secret Wonders of a Disappearing World by Michael Malaysource (opens in a new tab)

Writing on Conservation

  1. Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World by Helen Czerskisource (opens in a new tab)

Shortlist

Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation

  1. Fly: A Child's Guide to Birds and Where to Spot Them by David Lindosource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Geomancer: In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen by Kiran Millwood Hargravesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Global: A Graphic Novel Adventure About Hope in the Face of Climate Change by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkinsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundellsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Skrimsli by Nicola Daviessource (opens in a new tab)
  6. The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions by Giselle Clarksonsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back – An Illustrated Guide by Isabella Treesource (opens in a new tab)

Nature Writing

  1. Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter by Kat Hillsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Dispersals: On Plants, Borders and Belonging by Jessica J. Leesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Local: A Search for Nearby Nature and Wildness by Alastair Humphreyssource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Rural: The Lives of the Working Class Countryside by Rebecca Smithsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Laingsource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Uprooting: From the Caribbean to the Countryside – Finding Home in an English Country Garden by Marchelle Farrellsource (opens in a new tab)

Writing on Conservation

  1. Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World by John Vaillantsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Groundbreakers: The Return of Britain's Wild Boar by Chantal Lyonssource (opens in a new tab)
  3. It's Not Just You: How to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and the Climate Crisis by Tori Tsuisource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Nature's Ghosts: The World We Lost and How to Bring It Back by Sophie Yeosource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Wasteland: The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters by Oliver Franklin-Wallissource (opens in a new tab)

Longlist

Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation

  1. Finding Bear by Hannah Goldsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Quiet by Tom Percivalsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Golden Hare by Paddy Donnellysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Panda's Child by Jackie Morrissource (opens in a new tab)

Nature Writing

  1. Be a Birder: My Love of Birdwatching and How to Get Started by Hamza Yassinsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Hedgelands: A Wild Wander Around Britain's Greatest Habitat by Christopher Hartsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Hunt for the Shadow Wolf: The Lost History of Wolves in Britain and the Myths and Stories that Surround Them by Derek Gowsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Some of Us Just Fall: On Nature and Not Getting Better by Polly Atkinsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Lost Paths: A History of How We Walk from Here to There by Jack Cornishsource (opens in a new tab)

Writing on Conservation

  1. Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story by Caroline Lucassource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation by Hugh Warwicksource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Our Future by Ed Conwaysource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Move Like Water: A Story of the Sea and Its Creatures by Hannah Stowesource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay? How Traditions From the Past Can Shape Our Future by Robert Ashtonsource (opens in a new tab)

About the Wainwright Prize

Wainwright Prize, 2014-2025, every book category. Year is the prize year the body uses (shortlist in summer, winner announced in August/September). Categories as the body names them: Nature Writing (the only category 2014-2019, then called the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize for nature and UK travel writing); Writing on Global Conservation (2020-2021), Writing on Conservation (2022-2024) and Conservation Writing (2025) are the same strand under its successive names; Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation (2022-2024); from 2025 Illustrative Books, Children's Fiction, Children's Non-Fiction and Children's Picture Books. Levels: Winner, Shortlist (rest of the shortlist, including highly commended books), Longlist (longlisted, not shortlisted). The 2025 overall Book of the Year awards went to category winners and are not separate rows. Sources: wainwrightprize.com news posts and the 2025 shortlist page. Longlists are included only for 2021-2025, where the body's pages still list them; earlier longlists (2016-2020) were announced but those pages are gone, so those years have winner and shortlist only. 2014-2017 winner and shortlists come from Wikipedia's Wainwright Prize article (fallback), because the body's shortlist pages for those years return 404 and web.archive.org was unreachable from this machine. Authors only: illustrators credited with 'illustrated by' are left out; co-creators the body credits with 'and/&' are joined with ' and '. Expected counts are the books on the longlist page where one exists, otherwise the shortlist page.

Organization: The Wainwright Prize. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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