Rundell, McAnulty and Hargrave feature on indie-heavy James Cropper Wainwright Prize shortlists

Katherine Rundell, Dara McAnulty and Kiran Millwood Hargrave are among the authors featured in the three, indie-heavy James Cropper Wainwright Prize shortlists (see full shortlists below).

Named after nature writer Alfred Wainwright, the prize aims to celebrate connection with nature and the outdoors.

Among the established names shortlisted this year are 2020 winner Dara McAnulty and 2017 shortlistee Stephen Moss. McAnulty is in the running for the prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation, with A Wild Child’s Book of Birds, illustrated by Barry Falls (Macmillan Children’s Books). Meanwhile Moss’ Ten Birds that Changed the World (Faber) is up for the prize for Nature Writing.

Artist Amanda Thomson and poet Elizabeth-Jane Burnett are among the new voices on the shortlists. Thomson and Burnett are shortlisted on the Nature Writing list, the former with Belonging: Natural Histories of Place, Identity and Home (Canongate), and the latter with Twelve Words for Moss (Allen Lane).

For the first time in the Prize’s 10-year history, women dominate the shortlists, with 13 female authors out of the 19 shortlisted, including Katherine Rundell, up for the Nature Writing award for The Golden Mole: and Other Living Treasure, illustrated by Talya Baldwin (Faber) and Kiran Millwood Hargrave on the Children’s Writing list, with Leila and the Blue Fox, illustrated by Tom de Freston (Hachette Children’s Group).

A total of 11 of the 18 shortlisted books are from independent publishers, including Walker Books, Bloomsbury, Faber, Canongate and Nosy Crow.

Mark Cropper, a judge for the Writing on Conservation Prize, said: “The James Cropper Wainwright Prize and its authors and books are all about trying to open peoples’ eyes to what’s happening in the world. Stories shared range from the wondrous to the deeply concerning and often back again, as solutions to many of our deepest challenges are explored.”

This year, the judging panel for the Nature Writing Prize is chaired by TV presenter Ray Mears, while Craig Bennett, c.e.o. of The Wildlife Trusts, is chairing the panel for the Conservation Prize. The Children’s Prize panel is being chaired by the National Trust’s communication and campaign Director, Mark Funnell.

The winners of all three categories will be announced live on 14th September at a 10th anniversary, festival-style celebration for the award, held in partnership with the Kendal Mountain Festival. The winning authors will share an increased prize pot of £10,000 to honour the Prize’s 10th anniversary. 

The 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing shortlist

The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness, Amy-Jane Beer (Bloomsbury)
Twelve Words for Moss, Elizabeth-Jane Burnett (Allen Lane)
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)

The 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation shortlist
Beastly: A New History of Animals and Us, Keggie Carew (Canongate)
Rewilding the Sea: How to Save Our Oceans, Charles Clover (Ebury)
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)
The Lost Rainforests of Britain, Guy Shrubsole (William Collins)
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 shortlist
Protecting the Planet: The Season of Giraffes, Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton (Walker Books)
Blobfish, Olaf Falafel (Walker Books)
Spark, M G Leonard (Walker Books)
A Wild Child’s Book of Birds, Dara McAnulty, illustrated by Barry Falls (Macmillan Children’s Books)
Leila and the Blue Fox, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illustrated by Tom de Freston (Hachette Children’s Group)
Grandpa and the Kingfisher, Anna Wilson, illustrated by Sarah Massini (Nosy Crow)