Nature Writing Prize shortlist revealed

Literary journal Island has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Nature Writing Prize.

Shortlisted writers and their pieces are:

• Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun for ‘Menura Novahollandiae’
• Rosalee Kiely for ‘Habitat’
• Bridget Webster for ‘Like All Good Fruit’.

Running for the first time in 2025, this prize is administered by the literary journal in collaboration with Fullers Bookshop and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC).

Judges Jane Rawson, Ben Walter and Ted Lefroy selected the shortlist from around 200 entries.

Next month, the publication plans to announce the winner of the prize, whose piece will be published in Island 176 in December, while the remaining two shortlisted pieces will be published by the journal online. The winner will also receive a week-long residency at the TLC’s Sloping Main Reserve.

Island has previously conducted other initiatives in support of nature writing, including the Australian Nature Writing Project, which ran from 2021 to 2022 and encompassed a series of webinars, mentorships and publishing opportunities to promote the genre.

Category: Awards