Wainwright Prize

The Wainwright Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. In 2020 it 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. It is restricted to books published in the UK.[1] For three years from 2022 the prizes will be sponsored by Kendal paper-makers James Cropper plc and known as the James Cropper Wainwright Prizes.[2] A prize for writing for children was introduced in 2022, the three prizes being 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.[3]

The prize celebrates the legacy of British guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright. The prize was established by Frances Lincoln Publishers and The Wainwright Society, in association with the National Trust. It was originally sponsored by Thwaites Brewery, who produced a beer called Wainwright Ale[4] and was later sponsored by Marston's Brewery, who took over Thwaites' production of Wainwright Golden Beer, and sometimes referred to as The Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize.[5] In 2020 the prize was no longer sponsored, but was supported by an anonymous benefactor and was "in association with the National Trust".[1] In 2021 the Kendal papermakers James Cropper plc became the prize's "headline sponsors" in a three-year agreement.[6] In 2024 it was announced that the prize would be seeking new sponsorship.[7]

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,[1] and in 2022 it was increased to £7,500 to be shared between the three winners.[3]

  1. ^ a b c "Submissions for the 2020 Awards". The Wainwright Prize. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Wainwright Prize Sponsorship". James Cropper. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cropper2022short was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "The prize celebrates the legacy of British nature writer Alfred Wainwright". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Home page". The Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Sponsors & Partners". Wainwright Prize. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. ^ Kemp-Habib, Alice (2 April 2024). "Wainwright Prize to part ways with headline sponsor". The Bookseller. Retrieved 29 July 2024.