The Richard Jefferies Award is given annually to the author of the publication considered by the
judging panel to be the most outstanding nature writing published in a given
calendar year. The winning work must reflect the heritage and spirit of Richard
Jefferies’ countryside books.
The final shortlist
for 2022 publications was announced today (in n0 particular order):
Where the Wild Flowers
Grow – Leif Bersweden (Hodder & Stoughton)
Wild Fell – Lee Schofield (Doubleday)
The Treeline – Ben Rawlence (Jonathan Cape)
The Lost Rainforests of
Britain – Guy Shrubsole (William Collins)
Fen, Bog, and Swamp – Annie Proulx (Fourth Estate)
Illuminated by Water – Malachy Tallack (Doubleday)
The award was first
introduced in 2015 by the Richard Jefferies Society and then sponsored by
the White Horse Bookshop, Marlborough. It has attracted an unprecedented
number of nominations that grow each year reflecting the increasing quality of
books dedicated to the natural world.
Previous award winners are: Gods of the Morning by John Lister-Kaye
(2015), The Wood for the Trees by
Richard Fortey (2016) The Seabird's Cry by
Adam Nicolson (2017), Wilding by
Isabella Tree (2018); Rebirding by
Benedict Macdonald (2019), Orchard by
Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates (2020) and On Gallows Down by Nicola Chester (2021).
The judging panel will announce the overall winner of the £1000 prize on Monday 22 May 2023.