Nature Writing Prize entries open until 23rd September 2026
The Nature Conservancy has opened the eighth biennial Nature Writing Prize, offering $8,000 to the winning essayist and publication in Australian Book Review.
Submissions open on 1st July 2026 and close at 5pm AEST on 23rd September 2026. Alongside the main award, one writer will receive the Rosina Joy Buckman Award, a Highly Commended Prize worth $1,000.
Entries must run between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Each essay must fit the ‘Writing of Place’ genre and explore a relationship or interaction with some aspect of the Australian landscape.
Australian citizens and permanent residents can enter. Fees are $30 per submission, or $25 for Australian Book Review subscribers.
Australian Book Review partnership
For 2026, Australian Book Review joins as the prize’s official publishing partner. As a result, the winning essay will appear in ABR as well as taking the cash award.
Novelists Kim Mahood and Dave Witty will judge the prize with Dr Georgina Arnott, editor of Australian Book Review. According to the organisers, the judging process is completely anonymous.
Judges will choose an Australian writer whose essay shows the highest literary merit and best examines a connection with the Australian landscape.
Lara Gallagher, Country Director of The Nature Conservancy Australia, said: “The Nature Writing Prize was created in 2011 to promote and celebrate the art of nature writing, and to encourage a greater appreciation of Australia’s magnificent natural heritage.”
Gallagher also thanked Paula McLean and The McLean Foundation for supporting the prize. Meanwhile, Kinchem Hegedus and Peter Barge sponsor the Rosina Joy Buckman Award.
Gallagher said the partnership with ABR gives the prize wider reach and stronger backing in 2026, helping secure its place among Australia’s leading nature writing initiatives.
Annamaria Weldon won the inaugural prize with Threshold Country. Judges described that essay as “a marvelously orchestrated, complex meditation on belonging” that was both assured and gently voiced.
More information and full terms and conditions are available at www.natureaustralia.org.au/nwp. Entries close at 5pm AEST on Wednesday 23rd September 2026.
