Wainwright Prize

The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best works of nature, conservation, and environmental writing. Beginning in 2025 there were six categories: Nature Writing, Conservation Writing, Illustrative Books, Children's Fiction, Children's Non-Fiction, and Children's Picture Books. Each has separate longlists and judging panels. Category winners become eligible to win the overall prizes, the Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and the Wainwright Children's Prize Book of the Year. Nominations are restricted to books published in the UK.

History

The prize celebrates the legacy of British guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright. It was established in 2013 by Frances Lincoln Publishers and The Wainwright Society, in association with the National Trust. Originally the prize was sponsored by Thwaites Brewery, who produced a beer called Wainwright Ale and was later sponsored by Marston's Brewery, who took over Thwaites' production of Wainwright Golden Beer, and thus the prize was sometimes referred to as The Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize.

In 2020 the prize was no longer sponsored, but was supported by an anonymous benefactor and was "in association with the National Trust". Also in 2020 the prize was split into the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing and the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation, with separate longlists and judging panels. In 2021 the Kendal papermakers James Cropper plc became the prize's "headline sponsors" in a three-year agreement. From 2022 until 2024, the prizes were known as the James Cropper Wainwright Prizes. A prize for writing for children was introduced in 2022, with the three prizes newly titled the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation and the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing on Nature and Conservation.

In 2024 it was announced that the prize would be seeking new sponsorship. As of July 2025[update] the prize's partners were: the RSPB, the Wainwright Society, The Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust, Frances Lincoln, World Book Day, National Geographic Kids, and marketing company Agile.

The prize was first awarded in 2014 to Hugh Thomson for his The Green Road into the Trees: A Walk Through England. The winner received a cheque for £5,000. With the introduction of two prizes in 2020 the prize money was shared between the two winners, and in 2022 it was increased to £7,500 to be shared between the three winners. With the prize having been restructured in 2025, the two overall winners received £2,500, while each other category winner received £500, for a total of £7,000 prize money.

Winners and shortlisted titles

In the following tables, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the book was first published. Entries with a blue background and an asterisk (*) next to the writer's name have won the award; those with a pale background are the other nominees on the shortlist.

* Winners

2014–2019: One prize

2020–2021: Two prizes

2022–2024: Addition of a children's prize

2025–: Six prize categories

In 2025, the Wainwright Prize was restructured to award books across six categories, each falling under one of two overall Prizes: the Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and the Wainwright Children's Prize Book of the Year. Only winners in individual categories are eligible to win the overall Prizes. In the following table, a blue background indicates a category winner, a green background indicates an overall winner and a pale background indicates a shortlisted nominee.

Submissions for the 2025 prizes closed on 6 March 2025. The longlists were announced in July 2025; the shortlists were announced on 5 August and the winners were announced on 10 September.

The 2026 prize uses the same six categories. Submissions closed on 27 February 2026. The longlist is expected to be announced on 8 July, the shortlist on 5 August, and the winners on 10 September.

* Category winners ‡ Overall winners

External links