The Wainwright Prizes are the UK’s foremost nature and conservation writing awards. Named in honour of writer and fellwalker Alfred Wainwright, the awards were established in 2013 to shine a spotlight on writing that celebrates nature and the environment, nurtures respect for our planet and informs readers of the threat that it currently faces.

From a single prize for nature writing for adults, the award has grown in reach to comprise six distinct categories, with a dedicated Children’s Prize covering children’s fiction, non-fiction and picture books. The shortlists for all six categories were released in early August, chosen by individual judging panels made up of authors, booksellers and specialist nature reviewers.

Commenting on this year’s shortlists, Henry Bird, Wainwright Prize Ambassador, said: ‘Each of the categories for this year’s Wainwright Prize reflects the remarkable breadth of stories and ideas explored through environmental literature. Over the past few weeks of reading, I’ve traversed bogs and scaled treetops, been transported thousands of years into the past and generations ahead to the future, felt pangs of despair at what this world has lost and glimmers of hope at what it stands to gain. With the natural world in crisis, I’d go so far as to say that we need these books, now more than ever.’

There will be two winning titles for the 2026 award – one for adult writing and one for children’s writing. The 2026 Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and the 2026 Children’s Wainwright Prize Book of the Year will be announced at an award ceremony on 17th September.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators!

The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Fiction  

Birdlands by Anthony McGowan, illustrated by Keith Robinson (Rock the Boat, Oneworld Publications)

Swanfall by Sophie Kirtley (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales From the Wind in the Willows by M.G. Leonard, illustrated by Polly Dunbar (Farshore, HarperCollins)

The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke and Tammi Hartung, illustrated by Melissa Castrillón (DK flip)

The Lone Husky by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Tree Thing by Piers Torday, illustrated by Matthew Taylor Wilson (Quercus Children’s Books)

The Waters and the Wild by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by David Rooney (Penguin Random House Children’s UK Puffin)

The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Non-Fiction

A Wild Child’s Guide to Nature at Night by Dara McAnulty, illustrated by Barry Falls (Macmillan Children’s Books)

An Anthology of Remarkable Bugs by Jess French (DK Children’s)

Choose Your Own Evolution by Jules Howard, illustrated by Gordy Wright (Nosy Crow)

Letters From Wonderland by Josie George, illustrated by Becky Thorns (Faber & Faber)

Otherlands: An Illustrated Journey Through Earth’s Lost Worlds by Thomas Halliday, illustrated by Gavin Scott (Penguin Random House Children’s UK Puffin)

Shapes of Nature by Ben Hoare (DK Children’s)

The Cave Explorer by Kate Winter (Penguin Random House Children’s UK Puffin)

The Children’s Wainwright Prize for Picture Books  

A River Running Through You by Amy-Jane Beer, illustrated by Elin Manon (Magic Cat Publishing)

Firefly by Robert Macfarlane & Luke Adam Hawker (Magic Cat Publishing)

Isla and the Sky by Greg Stobbs (Oxford University Press)

The Great Bear by Annie Booker (Two Hoots)

The Summer Puppy by Jackie Morris & Cathy Fisher (Otter-Barry Books)

The Sun Thief by Alice Hemming & Nicola Slater (Scholastic)

The Whale That Sings in the Deep by Yuval Zommer (Oxford University Press)

Whale Song by Nicola Davies & Britta Teckentrup (Walker Books)

You can see the shortlists for the adults categories here.