The 2026 Longlists can be found here: Longlist 2026 - Wainwright Prize and across the two adult categories I found that I'd read quite a few of the books without even trying to shadow!
The shortlist announcement reduced this number and sadly one of my top books from the longlist - Wild Pavements by Amanda Tuke didn't make the cut. Tuke writes columns in a couple of nature magazines that I read and I really like her approach to finding natural things to spot wherever you are, including urban areas. Wild Pavements lists walks and visits Tuke has made to our cities (focusing on London) and all the things you can spot there if you slow down and look around - something I certainly try to do when out and about.
The big surprise for me was when my reservation for Ghosts of the Farm by Nicola Chester arrived at the library and I discovered that the farm Chester focuses on an area of Berkshire where Mr Norfolkbookworm's family are from - and that some of his relatives would have had actually had farms very close to Miss White - the 'ghost' of the book's title.
When I mentioned I was reading the book on social media I started chatting to Nicola and it turns out that she does know Mr Norfolkbookworm's distant family and the area they farmed - a small world indeed.
Even without the surprise connection I really enjoyed the book - it mixed modern farming and country life really well with the details from the 1940s and gave a huge insight into the way things used to be done. The mix of understanding that modernisation was necessary but laments for what we've lost were well handled and balanced.
The winner of the prize will be announced in mid September and I have my fingers all crossed for Ghosts.
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