Wainwright Prize 2025: Available winning titles along with winners and nominees from previous years.

Available print titles from the 2025 winners along with winners and nominees from previous years.

Our eAudio and eBook collection can be found at: kirklees.overdrive.com/Wainwright Prize 2025

The Wainwright Prize is awarded annually to books which most successfully inspire readers to embrace nature and the outdoors and develop a respect for the environment. This year’s winning books highlight the exploration of nature on a global scale through journeys of migration, finding beauty in the everyday, and celebrate the deep connections between humanity and nature through powerful storytelling.

https://wainwrightprize.com

Updated September 12, 2025
Kirklees Libraries
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Raising hare
Dalton, Chloe
Paper Book
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZEA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES,...
Flower Block
Butterfield, Lanisha.
Paper Book
When Jeremiah plants a packet of sunflower seeds, the very last thing he expects is for the vines and leaves to grow overnight and burst through the ceiling of his apartment! As Jeremiah and his brother chase the magical plant up through the floors of their tower block home, they...
The lie of the land : who really cares for the countryside?
Shrubsole, Guy
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE* *A WATERSTONES AND GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2024* 'Both dynamite and medicine' AMY-JANE BEER 'Timely and rousing' THE TIMES ________________________________ The lie of the land: that Britain's landowners care for...
Is A River Alive?
Macfarlane, Robert.
Paper Book
At its heart is a single, transformative idea- that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings - who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Inspired by the activists, artists and lawmakers of the young 'Rights of Nature' movement, Macfarlane takes the reader on an...
Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Land, and How to Take It Back
Shrubsole, Guy
Paper Book
'A formidable, brave and important book' Robert Macfarlane 'Absolutely brilliant...You cannot read this book and defend the establishment' Alastair Campbell, The Rest is Politics Who owns England? Behind this simple question lies this country's oldest and best...
Leila and the Blue Fox
Hargrave, Kiran Millwood.
Paper Book
*Winner of the 2023 Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing on Nature & Conservation!* 'A captivating tale that glistens with wonder. Leila and Fox will always have a home in my heart' Sophie Anderson 'This is an extraordinary book - wild and beautiful and...
The salt path
Winn, Raynor
Paper Book
The story of the couple who lost everything and embarked on a journey, not of escape, but salvation. Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, the couple lose their home and their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make...
The Lost Rainforests of Britain
Shrubsole, Guy
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CONSERVATION 2023 The Sunday Times Science Book of the Year As seen on Countryfile 'If anyone was born to save Britain's rainforests, it was Guy Shrubsole' Sunday Times Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Society...
The flow : rivers, water and wildness
Beer, Amy-Jane
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 'Unparalleled.' THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 'A true masterpiece.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'A tour de force.' GUY SHRUBSOLE 'Quietly courageous.' PATRICK...
English pastoral : an inheritance
Rebanks, James
Paper Book
As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient landscape- a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited...
Where poppies blow : the British soldier, nature, the Great War
Lewis-Stempel, John
Paper Book
Winner of the 2017 Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize for nature writing The natural history of the Western Front during the First World War 'If it weren't for the birds, what a hell it would be.' During the Great War, soldiers...
The outrun
Liptrot, Amy
Ebook
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING SAOIRSE RONANWITH A NEW AFTERWORD FROM THE AUTHORTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE AND THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZEAfter spending her twenties in London, Amy Liptrot returns to her home in Orkney where she comes to terms with the addiction that has...
Meadowland : the private life of an English field
Lewis-Stempel, John
Audiobook
Foxlight
Balen, Katya
Paper Book
*** WINNER OF THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR CHILDREN'S WRITING *** From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal, comes a heartbreaking and heart-warming story about sisterhood, found family and accepting love in the most unusual and unknown...
Underland : a deep time journey
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
'Into the underland we have long placed that which we fear and wish to lose, and that which we love and wish to save...' From the vast underground mycelial networks by which trees communicate to the ice-blue depths of glacial moulins, and from North Yorkshire to the Lofoten...
Late light
Malay, Michael
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 RICHARD JEFFERIES AWARD FOR NATURE WRITING WINNER OF THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
Goshawk Summer: A New Forest Season Unlike Any Other
Aldred, James.
Paper Book
What happens to nature when we are no longer there? In early 2020, wildlife cameraman James Aldred was commissioned to film the lives of a family of Goshawks in the New Forest, his childhood home. He began to plan a treetop hide in a remote site that would allow him...
Diary of a young naturalist
McAnulty, Dara
Paper Book
WINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history. 'Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving'...
12 birds to save your life : nature's lessons in happiness
Corbett, Charlie
Paper Book
Recognising his perspective on life was slipping following his mother's untimely death, Charlie turned to the rhythms of the natural world for comfort and solace - in particular its birds. He found that through reconnecting with the wildlife all around him, the grief that once felt insurmountable he...
Abundance : nature in recovery
Lloyd, Karen (Writer of The gathering tide)
Paper Book
In this new collection of literary essays, Karen Lloyd explores abundance and loss in the natural world relating compelling stories of restoration, renewal and rewilding and revealing how the people working on the front line of conservation are challenging the inevitability of biodiversity...
Climate change is racist : race, privilege and the struggle for climate justice
Williams, Jeremy
Paper Book
** LONGLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE LONGLIST 2022 ** 'Really packs a punch' Aja Barber, author of Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism 'Will open the minds of even the most ardent...
Entangled Life : How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures - The Illustrated Edition
Sheldrake, Merlin.
Paper Book
The smash-hit Sunday Times bestseller now illustrated with over 100 spectacular full-colour images, showcasing this wondrous and wildly various lifeform as never before 'Dazzling, vibrant, vision-changing' Robert Macfarlane Winner of the Royal...
The Heeding
Cowen, Rob
Paper Book
"Dazzling, moving... A book that will touch many, and be given often: here, take this, you must read this." --Robert Macfarlane "So vivid... A call out to our elemental relationship with love and nature. Beautiful." --Willem Dafoe The world...
The hidden life of trees : what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world
Wohlleben, Peter
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in...
I Belong Here: A Journey along the Backbone of Britain: WINNER of the 2021 BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD for NON-FICTION
Sethi, Anita
Paper Book
The Bookseller's Book of the Month A Guardian 2021 Literary Highlight "I knew in every bone of my body, in every fibre of my being, that I had to report what had happened, not only for myself but to help stop anyone else having to go through what I did. I...
The insect crisis : the fall of the tiny empires that run the world
Milman, Oliver
Paper Book
How would we live if insects no longer existed?
The instant
Liptrot, Amy
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 'I loved this book' Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path 'Utterly absorbing' Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden Wishing to leave behind the quiet isolation of her Orkney...
Fathoms: The World in the Whale
Giggs, Rebecca
Paper Book
Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, Shortlisted for the Stella Prize, Highly Commended in the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, and a Sunday...
Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape
Flyn, Cal.
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES' BESTSELLER AND SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT CONSERVATION AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY...
The lost words : a spell book
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
All over the country, there are words disappearing from children's lives. Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds. The Lost Words stands...
Landmarks
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
Words are grained into our landscapes, and landscapes are grained into our words. Landmarks is about the power of language to shape our sense of place. It is a field guide to the literature of nature, and a glossary containing thousands of remarkable words used in England, Scotland, Ireland...
Much ado about mothing : a year intoxicated by Britain's rare and remarkable moths
Lowen, James
Paper Book
This book narrates a year­-long quest to see Britain's rarest and most remarkable moths. This book coaxes moths out from the darkness and into the daylight; Much Ado About Moth-ing reveals that moths are so much more attractive, approachable and astonishing than...
Net zero : how we stop causing climate change
Helm, Dieter
Paper Book
What can we really do about the climate emergency? The inconvenient truth is that we are causing the climate crisis with our carbon intensive lifestyles and that fixing - or even just slowing - it will affect all of us. But it can be done. In Net Zero the economist...
The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet
E. Mann, Michael
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Financial Timesand McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, and one of The Observer's 'Thirty books to help us understand the world'. Are we really to blame for the climate crisis? Over 70 per cent of global emissions come from the same 100 organisations, but fossil...
The Easternmost Sky: Adapting to Change in the 21st Century
Blaxland, Juliet
Paper Book
The Easternmost Sky is part memoir, part elegy and part warning.It was written on the Suffolk coast, in a place known for its farmland, nature reserves and the fastest coastal erosion in Europe. By exploring how climate change and social change are already affecting this agriculturally important...
The reindeer chronicles : and other inspiring stories of working with nature to heal the Earth
Schwartz, Judith D.
Paper Book
"Compelling, Fascinating, sometimes unexpectedly moving, this vitally important book is, above all, a springboard for hope and transformation."--Isabella Tree "A lucid and compelling look at the global movement of ecological rehabilitation."-- The Boston Globe ...
Into the Tangled Bank: In Which Our Author Ventures Outdoors to Consider the British in Nature
Parikian, Lev
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING  'Funny, accessible and full of wonders' Melissa Harrison, author of The Stubborn Light of Things Lev Parikian is on a joyful journey to discover the quirks, habits and wonders of how we experience...
Twitch
Leonard, M. G.
Paper Book
"Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for birdwatching. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret hide to find police everywhere. A convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his...
Riders on the storm : the climate crisis and the survival of being
McIntosh, Alastair
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2021 for Writing on Global ConservationClimate change is the greatest challenge to humankind today. While the coronavirus sheds a light on the vulnerability of our interconnected world, the effects of global warming will be permanent, indeed...
Thin places
Dochartaigh, Kerri ní
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING - HIGHLY COMMENDED'Remarkable' Robert Macfarlane'Beautiful' Amy Liptrot'Powerful, unflinching . . . Part hymn to nature, part Troubles memoir' GuardianKerri ní Dochartaigh was born in Derry at the very height of the Troubles. One parent was...
The summer we turned green
Sutcliffe, William
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2023! A fresh, funny, heartfelt look at this generation's must-win battle: one earth, one chance. It's the summer holidays, and thirteen-year-old Luke's life has been turned upside down. First his older...
Skylarks with Rosie : a Somerset spring
Moss, Stephen
Paper Book
As spring arrives, Stephen Moss's Somerset garden is awash with birdsong: chiffchaffs, wrens, robins and more. Overhead, buzzards soar, ravens tumble and the season gathers pace. But this equinox is unlike any other. As the nation goes into lockdown, Stephen records the wildlife around his home,...
Silent Earth : averting the insect apocalypse
Goulson, Dave
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022** We have to learn to live as part of nature, not apart from it. And the first step is to start looking after the insects, the little creatures that make our shared world go round....
Uprooting: From The Caribbean To The Countryside - Finding Home In An English Country Garden
Farrell, Marchelle.
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE A COUNTRYFILE CHRISTMAS GIFT BOOK What is home? It's a question that has troubled Marchelle Farrell for her entire life. A longed-for career in psychiatry saw her leave behind the pristine beaches and...
The sea is not made of water : life between the tides
Nicolson, Adam
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022 'A remarkable and powerful book, the rarest of things ... Nicolson is unique as a writer ... I loved it' EDMUND DE WAAL Few places are as familiar as the shore - and few as full of mystery and surprise.
Shadowlands : A Journey Through Lost Britain
Green, Matthew.
Paper Book
The untold story of the hidden places across Britain that have slipped through the fingers of history.
Time on Rock: A Climber's Route into the Mountains
Fleming, Anna
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE AND THE BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE With great lyricism, Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing and the developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her....
The treeline : the last forest and the future of life on Earth
Rawlence, Ben
Paper Book
* A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * 'The very treeline is on the move: a devastating image. This book is an evocative, wise and unflinching exploration of what it will mean for humanity.' Jay Griffiths, author of Wild A ground-breaking and...
The Women Who Saved the English Countryside
Kelly, Matthew
Paper Book
A vibrant history of English landscape preservation over the last 150 years, told through the lives of four remarkable women   In Britain today, a mosaic of regulations protects the natural environment and guarantees public access to green spaces. But this was...
The wild places
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
The Wild Places is both an intellectual and physical journey.
Wild Green Wonders: A Life in Nature
Barkham, Patrick.
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE The collected writings from one of the nation's most celebrated nature writers. 'Barkham is an outstanding author.' CHRIS PACKHAM 'Wonder-filled . . . A treat. Patrick knows how to tell a good...
What if we stopped pretending?
Franzen, Jonathan
Paper Book
The climate crisis is here. Our chance to stop it has come and gone, but this doesn't have to mean the world is ending. 'If you care about the planet, and about the people and animals who live on it, there are two ways to think about this. You can keep on hoping that...
Vesper flights : new and collected essays
Macdonald, Helen
Paper Book
*A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, INDEPENDENT, BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE AND TIME MAGAZINE* *A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* *A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK* ...
October, October
Balen, Katya; Harding, Angela
Paper Book
_______________ WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL 2022 WINNER OF THE YOTO CARNEGIE SHADOWERS' CHOICE AWARD 2022 _______________ 'A very special new addition to the shelf and deserves classic status' - The Times Children's Book of...
On Gallows Down: Place, Protest and Belonging
Chester, Nicola
Paper Book
"It's ever so good. Political, passionate & personal."--Robert Macfarlane (via Twitter), author of Underland Part nature writing, part memoir, On Gallows Down is an essential, unforgettable read for fans of Helen Macdonald, Terry Tempest Williams, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. ...
Otherlands : a world in the making
Halliday, Thomas, (Paleobiologist)
Paper Book
This is the past as we've never seen it before. Otherlands is an epic, exhilarating journey into deep time, showing us the Earth as it used to exist, and the worlds that were here before ours. Travelling back in time to the dawn of complex life, and across all seven continents,...
Our Biggest Experiment: A History Of The Climate Crisis
Bell, Alice.
Paper Book
It was Eunice Newton Foote, an American scientist and women's rights campaigner living in Seneca Falls, New York, who first warned the world that an atmosphere heavy with carbon dioxide could send temperatures here on Earth soaring. This was back in 1856. At the time, no one paid much attention....

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