Longlist for Nan Shepherd Prize announced

Canongate has announced an 18-strong longlist for this year's Nan Shepherd Prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing.

The biennial prize aims to celebrate nature writing, provide an inclusive platform for new and emerging writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and discover "brilliant new voices".

Among the shortlisted writers is Niellah Arboine, writer, editor and freelance culture journalist; Dr Anjana Khatwa, an scientist, presenter and advocate for diversity in natural heritage spaces; and Irish writer William Keohane. 

A shortlist of eight titles will be revealed at the end of the month before a final winner is announced in December. The winner receives a book deal with Canongate, including a £10,000 advance, and the option of literary representation with The Good Literary Agency. All longlisted and shortlisted authors will receive individual feedback on their entry.

The judging panel for the 2021 prize features writers Jessica J Lee and Alice Vincent, The Good Literary Agency associate agent Rukhsana Yasmin and Little Toller co-founder Adrian Cooper. Ellah Wakatama, editor-at-large at Canongate, is chair.

Canongate launched the inaugural prize in 2019 and found a winner in Nina Mingya Powles’ acclaimed Small Bodies of Water.

The prize is run by Canongate's senior rights manager Caroline Clarke and assistant editor Megan Reid. They said: "We were delighted to receive over 120 entries to this year’s prize, all showcasing the incredible breadth of nature writing across the UK and Ireland. In a year where discussions about nature and the environment have taken centre stage worldwide, we couldn’t be more thrilled to present this 18-strong longlist of brilliant writers. Every single one offers a unique perspective and their voices are needed now more than ever."

The 2021 longlist in full:  

"Who Gets Nature?" by Niellah Arboine

"Pilgrim at the Tree of Time" by Nikita Azad

"Common Place" by Helen Baczkowska

"HoodRat" by Tia Bannon

"Healing Ground" by Rhiannon Bull

"Wild Sight" by Karen Jane Cannon

"Q is for Garden" by Jenny Chamarette

"The Swallows Will Return Next Year" by Izzy Dignum

"Uprooting" by Marchelle Farrell

"A Teaspoon of Soil" by Jennifer Jones

"The Gaze That Hovers" by Shauna Laurel Jones

"Hold Fast" by William Keohane

"The Rock Whisperer" by Anjana Khatwa

"The Ghost Lake" by Wendy Pratt

"The Selkie Papers" by Grace Quantock

"My Family and Other Folklore" by E. E. Rhodes

"Taking Root" by Rachel Sloan

"My Body is a Ritual / My Body is an Exorcism" by Nicky Watkinson