JAMES CROPPER BRINGS THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE HOME TO THE LAKE DISTRICT
For the first time in its 10-year history, the public is invited to join an exclusive festival-style celebration of the book prize and its legacy.
It has been wonderful to see the Wainwright Prize go from strength to strength over the last 10 years. It is particularly exciting and appropriate to be celebrating such a significant anniversary with James Cropper in Alfred Wainwright’s beloved Lake District.Jane King, Alfred Wainwright’s stepdaughter, says:
Kendal-based papermaker James Cropper is bringing the well-known Wainwright literary Prize home to its roots in the Lake District and for the first time in its 10-year history, the public is invited to join an exclusive festival-style celebration of the Prize and its legacy.
To mark the 10th Anniversary, the Prize will return to Kendal where nature writer Alfred Wainwright, who the Prize is named after, worked, and lived.
The event, which takes place on Thursday 14 September at Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, is open to everyone and will offer an opportunity to delve into the world of nature and conservation writing, alongside a cast of 25 accomplished and award-winning writers, broadcasters, conservationists, activists, and artists who are at the forefront of the nature writing movement.
The James Cropper Wainwright Prize and its authors and books are all about trying to open peoples’ eyes to what’s happening in the world. Stories shared range from the wondrous to the deeply concerning and often back again, as solutions to many of our deepest challenges are explored. It’s fantastic to bring the Prize home this year and invite the local community to get involved and celebrate nature and conservation writing.Mark Cropper, Chairman of James Cropper and a judge for the Writing on Conservation Prize says:
The morning session celebrates nature writing for future generations with BBC Countryfile’s Charlotte Smith in discussion with this year’s shortlistees, including Dara McAnulty and Kiran Millwood Hargrave, as well as the announcement of the winner of the coveted James Cropper Wainwright Prize Children's Award.
Throughout the day there will be panel discussions, signings, videos, workshops, art exhibitions, live paper making demonstrations and paper art workshops held at the James Cropper Wainwright Prize Festival Hub.
The upcoming 10th anniversary of the esteemed Wainwright Prize converges the realms of nature and literature here in Kendal. This celebration not only honours outstanding nature writing but also underscores Kendal’s emergence as a hub for creative thought and literary excellence in Northern England.Paul Scully, Kendal Mountain Book Festival Director, says:
