The Wainwright Prize Shortlist 2026
To be on a shortlist for the Wainwright prize is a wonderful thing. To have 3 titles on the shortlist is, I think, unprecedented, probably because most authors publish less than one book a year. ( I think I have about 5 coming out this year. Not sure though.)
The Wainwright Prize was founded by Frances Lincoln, a publisher I worked with for years before they were bought out by Quarto, so it is all the sweeter that three of my books are on the shortlist. The thing is, we do not make books alone. Two of the titles were designed by Daniel Streat of Visual Fields. He is a genius, and I am so happy to have worked with him on Wild Folk and The Book of Birds.
The Book of Birds is published by Hamish Hamilton, and we have the mighty power of a strong team behind us. Written by Robert Macfarlane, it’s aim is to celebrate the utter wonder of birds. From me it is a heartsong, a love song, a praise song and a howl of rage against the destruction of habitat and disrespect shown to these incredible folk we share this planet with. For now, it is the best that I can do, and I am honoured that the book has been recognised and placed alongside incredible titles on the shortlist. This is an award that is championed by indie bookshops, so to find out more go to the Wainwright Awards website, or, better still, your local bookshop.
I am beyond delighted that The Book of Birds is alongside Wild Folk, the book I created in partnership with Tamsin Abbott. Wild Folk has had a turbulent history. It’s birth into the publishing world was the most stressful period of my working life. Just before its amazing launch by Seven Fables ( read about that here, there was magic in the air, wild magic) the publisher went into administration for the second time, leaving our book in a very uncertain position. Now the book has been adopted by Chelsea Green, a wonderful publisher and Tamsin and I are beginning to talk about a second book. Tamsin’s beautiful artwork for the book is on show at an exhibition at the Museum of Stained Glass in Ely. ( Some of the artwork from The Book of Birds is on show in the Bodleian Library in Oxford)
The third book on the shortlist is a book very dear to my heart, created in partnership with Cathy Fisher. Both Cathy and I adored Rosie, the subject of The Summer Puppy. A true story of the first few months in the life of a young Welsh collie, beautifully illustrated, set in the landscape of our home, The Summer Puppy also sits alongside a strong list of picture books.
Cathy and I have two books in print and this week we are off to sign 1000 copies of The Wild Lullaby for indie bookshops, so, if you are a bookshop, get in touch with Bounce Marketing to reserve your signed copies, and if you are a reader, contact your indie bookshop to pre-order. There is a list of bookshops taking part in the pre-orders on my linktree, which you can access via this link, or from teh profile page of my instagram account.
I must dash now. Prizes are all very well, and it is wonderful to have such good news, but the next blank piece of paper waits and I have paintings to do, research to work on and stories to write.
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