The Wainwright Prizes

The Wainwright Prizes are the UK’s foremost awards celebrating nature, conservation, and environmental writing. Named in honour of Alfred Wainwright, writer, walker, and champion of the outdoors, the prizes were established in 2013 to spotlight the growing genre of nature writing and inspire readers to connect more deeply with the natural world.

What began as a single prize has since grown in reach and ambition. Following the popularity of the original award, new categories were introduced for global conservation writing and children’s books. In 2025, the Wainwright Prizes expanded further in response to the exceptional range and quality of submissions, particularly in children’s publishing.

Now comprising six distinct categories, including a new prize for illustrative books and dedicated awards for children’s fiction, non-fiction, and picture books, the Wainwright Prizes continue to evolve, celebrating the storytellers helping us to better understand our place in the natural world and the urgent need to protect it.

Find out more about the prize on our website: wainwrightprize.com 🍃

We are delighted to announce the 2025 longlists, which can be found below!*

*Also included on The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Fiction 2025 Longlist, but not currently available on bookshop.org is: Arabella Pepper: The Wild Detective by E. R. Murray & illustrated by Monika Pollak (Natural World Publishing).

**Also included on The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Picture Books 2025 Longlist, but not currently available on bookshop.org is: Wild Eyes by Bex Sheridan (Natural World Publishing).