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 Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in w ...

and the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, with separate longlists and judging panels. It is restricted to books published in the UK. For three years from 2022 the prizes will be sponsored by Kendal paper-makers

James Cropper plc James Cropper plc is an English papermaking company based in Burneside, Kendal, Cumbria, England. The company was founded in 1845 by James Cropper (1823-1900), whose great-great-grandson James Cropper is the Honorary President of the company ...

and known as the James Cropper Wainwright Prizes. 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. The prizes celebrates the legacy of British guidebook writer

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...

. The prize was established by

Frances Lincoln Publishers Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln (20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent publisher of illustrated books. She published under her own name and the company went on to become Frances Lincoln Publishers. In 1995, Lincoln w ...

and The Wainwright Society, in association with

The National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. It was originally sponsored by

Thwaites Brewery Thwaites Brewery is a regional brewery founded in 1807 by Daniel Thwaites in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and now located near Mellor in the Ribble Valley. Part of the company's beer business was sold to Marston's in March 2015, and the ori ...

, who produced a beer called Wainwright Ale and was later sponsored by

Marston's Brewery Marston's plc is a British pub and hotel operator. Founded by John Marston in 1834, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Marston's disposed of its brewing operations in 2020, selling the assets to a newly formed joint venture with the Ca ...

, who took over Thwaites' production of Wainwright Golden Beer, and 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". In 2021 the

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

papermakers

became the prize's "headline sponsors" in a three-year agreement. The prize was first awarded in 2014 to

Hugh Thomson Hugh Thomson (1 June 18607 May 1920) was an Irish people, Irish Illustration, Illustrator born at Coleraine near Derry. He is best known for his pen-and-ink illustrations of works by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and J. M. Bar ...

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.

Winners and shortlisted titles

In the following table, 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

References

External links

*{{official website, http://wainwrightprize.com/ * Outdoor literature awards British literary awards Awards established in 2013 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom