Congratulations to Katya Balen, whose heartwarming adventure Foxlight (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) has been crowned the winner of this year’s Wainwright Prize: Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation category.

The judges highlighted Balen’s ‘compelling’ and ‘exceptional’ storytelling as twin sisters Fen and Rey venture into the ferocious wildlands in an attempt to discover their story and find the mother who abandoned them.

The Wainwright Prize is awarded annually to the books that best inspire readers to explore the outdoors and that nurture a respect for the natural world. There are three award categories: Nature Writing Prize, Writing on Conservation Prize and Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation Prize.

Commenting on this year’s winner, Roisin Taylor, Chair of Judges in the Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation category and Co-Director at UK Youth for Nature, said: ‘Foxlight stood out for all of the judges for its rich warmth of storytelling, demonstrating the need for adventure and interaction with nature at its messiest to ensure a life connected to it. It’s a book that dances from the start; sharing a tale of sisterhood in the unruly natural world, and the depths we go to find connection. Young people need connection to nature now more than ever, and Katya Balen artfully shows us how simple that can be – through adventure, joy and discovery.’

Also Highly Commended was Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano (Hodder Children’s Books), the first graphic novel to be shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize.

See the full shortlist for this year’s Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation here.

Wainwright Prize 2024 – adult category winners:

Nature Writing Prize

• Winner: Late Light: The Secret Wonders of a Disappearing World by Michael Malay (Manilla Press, Bonnier Books)
• Highly Commended: Dispersals: On Plants, Borders and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee (Hamish Hamilton)

Writing on Conservation Prize

• Winner: Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World by Helen Czerski (Torva, Transworld)
• Highly Commended: Groundbreakers: The Return of Britain’s Wild Boar by Chantal Lyons (Bloomsbury Wildlife)