The Wainwright Prize surprise

 

Back in 2021 I challenged myself to read as many of the Wainwright Prize nominated books as I could. I really enjoyed doing this and discovering lots of new nature writing books and authors. While not something I've challenged myself to do again I do always look out for the long and short lists for all categories and see if I can fit any of the books into my reading plans.

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.

Micro Review 69

 

Much Ado About Mothing by James Lowen (Bloomsbury)

While I've been captivated by butterflies for a long time I've never really thought about moths. This year that has changed. Earlier in the year we were at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve when wardens there were opening a moth trap, and then whilst on holiday in Scotland and seeing to many day and evening species.

Much Ado About Mothing was just the book for me at the moment as it follow Lowen over the course of the year as he tries to find and see the rarest UK moths. It isn't just about the rarities however and through the eyes of his daughter he talks about so many more species, often ones that are easier to find!

I had a couple of issues with the book.  One that Lowen touches on this - the use of artificial pheromones to lure moths to his garden and traps. I wasn't aware that this is a thing you can do and at it feel like cheating, or even cruelty to the poor moths. Lowen did stress where lights and lures couldn't be used but there was no discussion of the ethics of this.

When I talked about this with a friend they pointed out I had no problems with bird feeders and so wasn't I being hypocritical...I thought about this and came to the conclusion that at least on a bird feeder the bird was getting a physical and useful reward, but pheromones promised a lot but didn't actually reward the moths with a mate. I'm still not sure how I feel about lights in traps...

My second issue was that Lowen talks a lot about how climate change is really impacting on the moth populations of the UK and yet in one year he drives 14,000 miles as he searches for these rare species. The thought of this incredible mileage has made me all the more certain that I won't become a wildlife 'twitcher' who travels just to see an unusual species, it will have to fit into my plans and there has to be another goal for the trip, even if this is just a walk at a nature reserve. 

Apart from these two points I really enjoyed the book, all the more so as Lowen does live in Norwich and makes it clear just how many moths I could see on my own patch and how overlooked or feared moths are. It was certainly interesting to see how few language separate butterflies and moths out and so moths overseas don't have the same negative stigma that moths here often do.

Much Ado About Mothing is on the 2022 Wainright Prize longlist and I hope that it does make the shortlist as it is a fascinating read.

A selection of the moths seen in Scotland, July 2022 that have inspired me to learn more

Micro Review 35 (Wainwright Prize)

 

Skylarks with Rosie by Stephen Moss (Saraband Books)

Own copy

I feel a bit bad for this book and my response to it, if I hadn't read and loved The Consolation of Nature  so recently I think that this one would have spoken to me more.

Once more I really liked the concept of exploring a local setting more deeply, and also the diary format. It was also interesting to read another personal account of the first lockdown last year but for me it just didn't reach the heights of Consolation - not a fault of the book, just the reader.

 

Micro Review 34 (Wainwright Prize)

 

The Circling Sky by Neil Ansell (Tinder Press)

Library book

Unlike some of the other books this was a book with a set location and charts Ansell's exploration of just one place over the course of a year.

As Ansell explores the New Forest we learn more about why he considers this his 'home turf' and he weaves in his family and personal history in a way that, for me, blended perfectly with the observations of the natural world.

I very much liked the idea of exploring just one location over the course of a year - since the start of the pandemic Mr Norfolkbookworm and I have definitely got to know several local areas far more and are enjoying watching them change through the seasons. However as the area explored was the huge New Forest each visit seemed like a new location and I was a little sad to lose the tight focus.

I have now added the New Forest to my list of places I'd like to visit, and put another of Ansell's books on reserve in the library - signs that I liked this book a lot!

Micro review 33 (Wainwright Prize)

 

Into the Tangled Bank by Lev Parikian (Elliot & Thompson)

Library eBook

This was my out and out favourite book from the long list and I am really sad that it didn't make the short list and thus can't win.

This was a book that resonated the most with me. Parikian explores nature in the same way that I do - when he's in a new place he explores it, and occasionally makes trips to areas for a walk or to learn more but he's just as happy looking at the world closer to home.

The writing made me feel that yI was discovering things along with Parikian rather than him just lecturing me, and I certainly felt like I was sharing his walks and trips as he took them.

This was another book that let me see myself in the writing, another writer who approaches the natural world in the same way as me but is far more talented in communicating what he sees than I ever could!

Parikian has another book coming out soon and I am very excited to have an advance copy of that thanks to NetGalley.

Micro Review 32 (Wainwright Prize)

 

The Stubborn Light of Things by Melissa Harrison (Faber & Faber)

NetGalley

This was another book that I'd read before the Wainwright Prize long list was announced, and was another book I was really pleased to see made the list - and one I was really sad that didn't go further, it is definitely a contender for being on my best books of the year in December.

Another book that was great to dip in and out of as it was written in diary format - a style I really love. Another real plus about this book was that I knew the places Harrison talks about, especially when she is writing about Suffolk.

My favourite thing about this book is the way that Harrison appears to experience nature in the same way that Mr Norfolkbookworm and I do - it feels natural and points out things that non experts can see. The details are there but it is the ordinary that shines, and the details are written so that everyone can feel the wonder and even if you live in a city centre there are still natural wonders to see.

On the back of how much I enjoyed this book I went out and bought Harrison's novel All Among the Barley and I'm sure it won't be that long before it gets to the top of my tbr pile...

Micro Review 31 (Wainwright Prize long list)

 

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape)

NetGalley

I was lucky enough to have the chance to read this back in July 2020 thanks to NetGalley and so I was very pleased to see it on the long list.

Unlike H is for Hawk this wasn't a straight forward narrative, this was a collection of essays, musings, and articles all with nature as a theme.

As is always the case with an essay collection not every one hit the mark for me, but I loved the format - a book to really dip in and out of. Macdonald's writing is very readable and I like her style a lot.

It didn't quite hit the high of H is for Hawk but I am really surprised that it didn't make the Wainwright shortlist. I was amused to see that nature writing is no different to other genres in that books with similar themes come along at the same time - 2021 seems to be the year of the swift!

The Wainwright Prize Shortlist

 

The shortlist for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing was announced on the 4th August and I did manage to read all of the long listed titles before the list revealed - just I finished my last book at 10am on the day!

The official shortlist really doesn't match my personal list, and indeed neither of my favourites made the list at all. I'll review them in separate posts over the next couple of weeks,

The short listed titles are below, with my thoughts on them in blue.

The shortlist for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing is: 

English Pastoral: An Inheritance, James Rebanks, Penguin Press - from this list I think it is my 2nd favourite, I really enjoyed the parts on how the farm was run and the talk of traditional farming as well as the parts on how Rebanks is trying to return to these (or improve on them). It did give a good feel on the pressures felt by farmers.

Featherhood, Charlie Gilmour, Orion Publishing Group - I really wasn't so keen on this one at all, for me there wasn't quite enough nature in it (and the idea of a bird flying freely in a flat along with all its habits freaked me out).

I Belong Here, Anita Sethi, Bloomsbury - This was the last book I read from the longlist and for the most part I really enjoyed it, and it was really eye opening at times but every so often the timeline/continuity felt out and I couldn't mentally follow Sethi's journey which disengaged me from the narrative somewhat.

Seed to Dust, Marc Hamer, Vintage - This was the first book I read from the longlist and while I am not a gardener in any sense of the word at all I did enjoy the gentle pace of this book, it was a restful read that flowed just as the seasons do.

The Screaming Sky, Charles Foster, Little Toller Books - I really wanted to love this book, seeing the first swifts of the year is something I look forward to annually. The chapters were interesting and the illustrations beautiful but my issue with this book was the author. There is lots of talk about what could be changing the swift's patterns and threatening them and climate change is one of the big factors here - yet the author thought nothing of taking multiple flights around the world to see his favourite bird...

The Wild Silence, Raynor Winn, Michael Joseph - I'm going to make myself very unpopular with my thoughts on this one but I really didn't like Winn's first book (The Salt Path) and although I did finish this one I can't say I enjoyed it. I'm not sure why I don't like her writing but it just really leaves me cold and uninterested

Thin Places, Kerri ni Dochartaigh, Canongate Books - This one grew on me slowly but at times moved me to tears. As well as finding the writing beautiful the weaving of the author's history, Ireland's recent history and the way nature is a constant just made for a great read - if depressing at times.

From this list I think I'd like Thin Places or Seed to Dust to win but as I was so out of step with the books I wanted to see on the shortlist I wouldn't use my thoughts as a guideline!

Shadowing a book prize for fun

 

The Wainwright Prize for UK Nature writing

In the past I have been part of 'official' book prize shadowing projects for what was the Foreign Fiction prize and also the Women's Prize for fiction and enjoyed the process a lot, shadowing means that for a short while you don't have to worry about what you've got to read next as there's a ready made list just waiting for you!

As I've really enjoyed so many of the books that fall under the umbrella I thought that this year I'd try to read all of the books nominated for the 2021 Wainwright Prize. On exploring their website I realised that they have more than one prize so I limited myself to 'just' the 13 books on the UK Nature Writing longlist which was announced in June:

Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald,  Vintage

The Stubborn Light of Things: A Nature Diary, Melissa Harrison, Faber

Seed to Dust, Marc Hamer, Vintage

The Screaming Sky, Charles Foster, Little Toller Books

English Pastoral: An Inheritance, James Rebanks, Penguin Press

Into The Tangled Bank, Lev Parikian, Elliott & Thompson

Thin Places, Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Canongate Books

Birdsong in a Time of Silence, Steven Lovatt, Penguin Press

I Belong Here, Anita Sethi, Bloomsbury Plc

Featherhood, Charlie Gilmour, Orion Publishing Group

The Circling Sky, Neil Ansell, Headline

The Wild Silence, Raynor Winn, Michael Joseph

Skylarks with Rosie, Stephen Moss, Saraband

My growing interest in this genre meant that I'd read two of the books before learning they were on the list and thus 11 books between June and 4th August didn't seem quite so overwhelming. I know that this statement sounds like I am mad but these books are such a soothing read at the moment that it sounds wonderful rather than stressful.

The mixed weather so far this summer has meant that sofa nature walks have often seemed more appealing than the actual activity and now that there's only three weeks until the shortlist is announced I feel that I really might get all the books finished - I've finished 8 and am about half way through number nine...

The side benefit of all this reading is that I am able to borrow so many of the books from the library either in physical or eBook editions, the ones I can't borrow are letting me continue to support independent publishers and bookshops as I acquire them!

Unlike other prizes that I've shadowed I am not at all falling out of love with the genre as I effectively binge read the subject. The books are all so varied that it is wonderful and not at all predictable I've definitely got my own favourites for ones I'd like to see on the shortlist!

Once the short list is out I'll start posting my reviews and thoughts on the books, but for now I am going to curl up on the sofa while listening to the bees on the honeysuckle that is just outside the window and making the front room smell lovely!

Nature Writing

The Wainwright Book Prize 2019

Over the past 18 months we've been spending a lot more time outside walking and nature watching. At the same time I've also really enjoyed reading a lot more nature writing and when it comes to finding new books in this genre the Wainwright has been indispensable.

The longlist was great this year and I started to pick and choose books from it to dip into, I was really pleased that many of the books I'd really enjoyed made the cut to the shortlist.

Three of the books have strong links to East Anglia but my absolute standout (so far - I have 2 still to read!) has been The Easternmost House by Juliet Blaxland.

As the title suggests this is a book about the easternmost house in England. However pleasant this sounds it comes with a huge caveat - the house is perched on a cliff that is eroding away incredibly fast.

The book is split into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, and is a meditation on country/coastal life in the twenty-first century. Knowing the area being talked about I am sure added a lot to my reading as it became illustrated in my mind as I turned the pages.

A lovely touch to the book was the chapter end page, in this Blaxland lists all of the produce that is in season as well as charting the erosion of the coast and the position of the house in relation to the sea.

I wouldn't be upset if any of the books on the list wins the prize but I will be crossing my fingers hard that others love this book as much as I do when it comes to the final announcement tomorrow.