Yuval Zommer, Katya Balen and Benjamin Zephaniah shortlisted for The Wainwright Prize 2025
The shortlists for The Wainwright Prize, a celebration of nature and conservation writing, have been announced. Following the prizes recent expansion, The Children’s Wainwright Prize now includes the Prize for Fiction, the Prize for Non-Fiction and the Prize for Picture Books.
The Wainwright Prize showcases writing that reflects its namesake Alfred Wainwright’s values of celebrating nature and our environment, nurturing respect for our planet, and informing readers of the threats that the earth currently faces.
The official shortlists for The 2025 Wainwright Prize children’s awards are:
The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Fiction
Ghostlines by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold & illustrated by Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Ettie and the Midnight Pool by Julia Green & illustrated by Pam Smy (David Fickling Books)
Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Pushkin Children’s Books)
Wildlands by Brogen Murphy (Puffin Books)
Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit & illustrated by David Dean (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Non-Fiction
National Trust: Look What I Found by the River by Moira Butterfield & illustrated by Jesús Verona (Nosy Crow)
University of Cambridge: Think Big: Secrets of Bees by Ben Hoare & illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti (Nosy Crow)
MEGA by Jules Howard & illustrated by Gavin Scott (Nosy Crow)
Cloudspotting for Beginners by Gavin Pretor-Pinney & illustrated by William Grill (Particular Books)
Wildlife in the Balance by Dr Sharon Wismer & illustrated by Terri Po (Flying Eye Books)
Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin & illustrated by Louise Forshaw (Macmillan Children’s Books)
The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Picture Books
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield & illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin Books)
Bothered By Bugs by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots)
HERD by Stephen Hogtun (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The World to Come by Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn, illustrated by Emily Sutton (Magic Cat Publishing)
Frog by Isabel Thomas & illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Leave the Trees, Please by Benjamin Zephaniah & illustrated by Melissa Castrillon (Magic Cat Publishing)
The Wild by Yuval Zommer (Oxford University Press)
Alastair Giles, The Wainwright Prize Director, says, ‘As The Wainwright Prize enters its second decade, the need to celebrate the best in nature and conservation writing has only grown stronger. While the challenges facing our planet have never been more urgent, we’ve also seen an inspiring surge of enthusiasm from readers. The Prize aims to continue motivating people to reconnect with the environment, both physically and intellectually. With this year’s expansion, we’re especially excited to reflect the evolving landscape of environmental storytelling and champion work that engages younger generations in the care and protection of the natural world. We’re eager to see which books from our 2025 shortlist will resonate with readers and inspire action.’
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 10th September 2025 at FarmED in Oxford. In addition to the six individual category winners, two exceptional titles will be honoured as the overall winners of The Wainwright Prize: one for adult writing and one for children’s writing. These will be chosen from the respective category winners and will be celebrated as the 2025 Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and the 2025 Wainwright Children’s Prize Book of the Year. Both overall winners will receive £2,500, with the remaining category winners each awarded £500.
Publishers Frances Lincoln, in association with the National Trust, launched The Wainwright Prize for UK Nature and Travel Writing in November 2013. The Prize aims to reward outstanding titles inspired by the general outdoors, nature and travel.
