Hachette Children’s Group partners with Prince William’s Earthshot prize on handbook

Hachette Children’s Group has partnered with Prince William’s Earthshot prize on non-fiction title The Earthshot Prize: A Handbook for Dreamers and Thinkers – Solutions to Repair Our Planet, written by authors Colin Butfield and Jonnie Huges.

The deal for English language rights was brokered between Wren & Rook publishing director Laura Horsley at Hachette Children’s Group and Robert Kirby at United Agents. The book will be published on 12th October 2023 in paperback and feature an introduction by Prince William, and contributions from figures such as David Attenborough, actor Shailene Woodley and Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, is awarded to five winners each year for contributions to environmentalism. Each winner receives a grant of £1m to further their environmental work. First awarded in 2021, it is planned to run annually until 2030.

The publisher says: “This first publication of the prestigious Earthshot Prize aimed at the next generation of innovators of climate solutions is the ultimate handbook for young people looking for practical solutions to help repair the planet.”

Horsley said: “We’re delighted to be working with The Earthshot Prize to create an inspiring and practical environmental guide for children. The book celebrates our planet’s diverse and rich habitats, amazing animals and wonderful landscapes, and introduces them to Earthshot innovators, entrepreneurs and game changers from Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai to Sir David Attenborough. Young readers will discover how they can become the changemakers of the future, developing solutions to the world’s biggest problems."

Hughes is the author of On the Origin of Tepees (Oneworld) and in 2012 joined executive producer Alastair Fothergill (“Blue Planet”, “Planet Earth”, “Frozen Planet”) at Silverback Films to work on the BAFTA award-winning BBC series “The Hunt” (2015) and the Emmy award-winning production “Our Planet” (2019).

His collaboration with David Attenborough on both these projects led to his engagement on Attenborough’s “A Life on Our Planet” project as producer, director and co-author with Attenborough of the accompanying book.

During 15 years at WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Butfield wrote numerous articles and appeared in hundreds of media interviews on topics ranging from renewable energy, tropical rainforests, chemical pollution, ocean biodiversity and sustainable development. He is an advisor for The Earthshot Prize, and in recent years his collaboration with Silverback Films became his principal focus.

They jointly commented: “The task of repairing our planet isn’t an easy one, and it will most certainly take a generation’s worth of time to achieve. But we can motivate this special generation – one with so many young changemakers already out there doing important work and making real change.

“But we need more, and it is vital that we do everything we can to empower the next generation on their journey. We hope the book will encourage young dreamers to be stubborn optimists, with resilient, positive attitudes and the conviction that the changes they make will, ultimately, improve the world for everyone.”