The Meaning of Geese by Norfolk conservationist Nick Acheson wins East Anglian Book of the Year

Norfolk conservationist Nick Acheson’s The Meaning of Geese (Chelsea Green Publishing) has won East Anglian Book of the Year 2023, with the author receiving a £1,000 cash prize.

The news follows the announcement of The East Anglian Book Awards category winners in January. The winner was awarded the prize at an event hosted by the awards’ partners- Jarrolds, the Eastern Daily Press and the National Centre for Writing- at Dragon Hall, on Thursday evening (15th February). 

To qualify for the East Anglian Book Awards, which are also supported by UEA’s Faculty of Arts & Humanities, works must be set largely in East Anglia or be written by an author living in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and the Fenland District Council.

"I am astonished that my little geese and bicycle and I have managed to tell a story that’s touched people," Acheson said. "I always wanted to tell a story that’s more than geese: it’s about climate, it’s about landscape and it’s about who we are in relation to the climate and landscape." 

On the book, which began as a lockdown project, the author added: "Towards the end of 2020, I didn’t have work because of the lockdowns and because of decisions I’d made in my life prior to the lockdowns [...] I said right, Nicholas, you’re going to get on your mother’s bike- 42-years-old at the time, it’s now 45 or 46- and you will cycle all winter to stay fit, to stay motivated.

"You’ll follow the wild flocks of geese that visit Norfolk, and you will try to tell their story. You will try to honour the story of people who have lived with them, who farm alongside them, who shoot them, who count them, who conserve them, who love them. And then, when they leave, you’ll honour their journey to the Arctic."

The judges praised The Meaning of Geese for its "compelling sense of place and use of language". Lynne Bryan, one of the judges and 2022 winner of the Year of the Book Award, said: "It was great privilege to help judge the East Anglian Book of The Year Award this year. The conversation between the judges was thoughtful and balanced and we have found a wonderful winner in The Meaning of Geese by Nick Acheson. We like how this book is obsessive in the best kind of way, human and informative and firmly based in East Anglia."

Caroline Jarrold, community affairs adviser at Jarrold & Sons, commented: "Although all of us came to read the book with little knowledge of geese, Nick Acheson writes so beautifully and evocatively about them that we were all absorbed by his days observing them around North Norfolk. It is a book born of the lockdown, when activities were so restricted, but would encourage anyone to look more closely at nature around them and reflect on the impact of climate change on habitats and habits."

The Exceptional Contribution Award 2023 for outstanding work within writing and publishing in the region was awarded to c.e.o. of the Forum, Chris Gribble.