Whatley wins the Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers for ‘deeply powerful’ poem

Kirsty Whatley has been crowned winner of the 2023 Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers, with her entry the first poem to ever win the prize.

Announced at a reception in London on 12th September, Whatley’s poem "Labradorite" scored most highly by the judges in the categories of originality, relevance to nature and quality of writing.

A classical harpist, Whatley’s first instrument was built by her mother in the garden shed and a council grant enabled her to have lessons. She embraces the human connections, development, and enrichment that the arts can open up for all. She wins one year’s free membership to Campaign for National Parks, a £300 paid commission to write a National Parks inspired piece for Viewpoint Magazine, an Arvon Course of choice (including online) and three one-hour mentoring sessions with a Gaia commissioner.

Natasha Carthew, author and founder of the prize, commented: “I’m delighted that a poem has won this year’s Class Festival Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers. Kirsty Whatley’s deeply powerful piece was a clear winner for our judges, and I’m happy to report that this is the first time a poem has won the prize.”

Founded by author Carthew in 2020 the Nature Writing Prize recognises unpublished works of up to 1,000 words in any literary category and is open to self-identified working class writers resident in the UK and not previously published in book form. The prize aims to break down barriers, create opportunities for working class nature writers and celebrate the diversity of authentic voices.

The 2023 shortlisted writers were Manjit Dhillon, Lottie Green, Annie McBay, Ruth Nolan, Ajaz Qureshi and Kirsty Whatley. They all receive a book bundle from Octopus Publishing Group.

The 2023 judging panel was made up of writers Niellah Arboine, Adam Farrer, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, Tanya Shadrick and Kiran Sidhu; last year’s winner, writer Jeni Bell; Carthew; Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller; Juliet Pickering, vice-head of books at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency; and Stephanie Jackson, publisher at Octopus Publishing Group.

The Arvon Foundation and The Campaign for National Parks once again joined Gaia (an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group) as prize sponsors.