Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane’s The Book of Birds was awarded the 2026 Wainwright Prize Book of the Year last night.

The Wainwright Prizes, Britain's foremost nature and conservation writing awards, announced its 2026 winners at a special ceremony held at the Elmley Nature Reserve in Kent.

Thomas Halliday and Gavin Scott were presented with the 2026 Children’s Wainwright Prize Book of the Year for their book Otherlands: An Illustrated Journey Through Earth's Lost Worlds.

Treasure

Alastair Giles, director of The Wainwright Prize, said: "This year's entries once again show just how vital and vibrant nature and conservation writing has become, not only as a form of creative expression, but as a force for change. 

As environmental and social challenges grow ever more urgent, it's inspiring to see writers using their voices to deepen our connection with the natural world. The Wainwright Prize continues to champion those who remind us that storytelling can be a powerful step towards awareness, action, and ultimately, hope."

The Wainwright Prizes have been given out annually since 2014 and are named after Alfred Wainwright. The awards celebrate nature and the environment books that nurture respect for the planet and inform readers of the threats that the Earth currently faces. 

The 2026 Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and Illustrative Books category winner, The Book of Birds, was described by the judges as an “utterly beautiful book to treasure”. They praised Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane for their exceptional chemistry. 

This is Robert Macfarlane’s second win, as he was first awarded the prize in 2019 for his book Underland. The duo were also together shortlisted for the prize in 2018 for their book The Lost Words.

Acclaimed

The book is described by the Wainwright Prize as "a  call to help stop the decline in endangered bird species in Britain."

The 2026 Children’s Wainwright Prize Book of the Year and Children’s Non-Fiction category winner, Otherlands, was described by the prize givers as a “deeply knowledgeable” illustrated journey through time, adapted from the bestselling adult book that was highly commended at the 2022 Wainwright Prize. 

The book introduces young people to the life that shared the world before our time, with judges calling it a “breakthrough children’s classic that will endure for decades".

The prize spotlights the latest thinking on environmental issues, with this year’s other category winners sparking important conversations about reconnecting with nature, endangered species and protecting the planet.

Luke Barley’s Ancient: Reviving the Woods that Made Britain picked up the acclaimed Nature Writing Prize and was described as "a wonderful book that aims to reconnect readers with Britain’s ancient woodlands".

Commended

Cal Flyn was praised for asking provocative questions about how the world’s most forbiddingly remote places might be appreciated and preserved in The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness, the winner of the Conservation Writing Prize.

Caryl Lewis’s The Danger of Small Things won the Children’s Prize for Fiction with the prize explaining that it "imagines a dystopian world where the bees have died out, a not-too-dystopian possibility with real-life drops in our bee population".

Annie Booker’s The Great Bear was awarded the Children’s Prize for Picture Books and was praised for carrying "a powerful message about the impact humans have on nature in the Arctic and how we can protect it".

Alongside these winners, several books were highly commended in each category. Ghosts of the Farm: Two Women's Journeys Through Time, Land and Community was the runner up in the nature writing section.

Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them by Dr Julia Shaw was highly commended by the judges in the conservation writing, alongside When the Forest Breathes by Suzanne Simard.

Guides

Funga Obscura: Photo Journeys Among Fungi by Alison Pouliot was the highly commended illustrative books.

In the children's books, The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales From the Wind in the Willows by M.G. Leonard, illustrated by Polly Dunbar was the highly commended fiction; The Cave Explorer by Kate Winter was the runner up non-fiction and Isla & The Sky by Greg Stobbs from the illustrated category. 

The overall winners were chosen by an executive panel, distinct from the category judges, who drew on recommendations of the category judging panels. Each overall winning book was awarded £2,500, with individual category winners receiving £500.

The Wainwright Prize was founded by the Alfred Wainwright Estate and Frances Lincoln, publisher of the Wainwright Guides. Prize continues to be supported by The RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, National Geographic Kids, The National Literacy Trust and The National Trust.

This Author

Brendan Montague is an editor of The Ecologist. He also served as a judge, in a voluntary capacity, for the conservation writing category of The Wainwright Prize this year. This article is based on a press release from The Wainwright Prize.