The WINNER of the 2025 Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction is...
Wildlands, @brogen_murphy (@puffinbooksuk )
Imaginative and urgent, Wildlands gives voice to young readers’ hopes and fears about the natural world. It balances storytelling magic with a message of courage, empowerment, and belonging.
#WainwrightPrize #StoriesThatConnect
BEST. DAY. EVER. Thank you @shropbookfest !! What a brilliantly organised event and a wonderful scheme. There's nothing better than 1234 primary school kids and their teachers screaming like you're a rock star! But more importantly, reading all the books, diving into the stories - making their own art and poems and letters and even book trailers!!! It was all so inspiring and moving and a little overwhelming! I'm still on such a high. And LOOK AT THAT PLATE!!! 👀
Also had THE loveliest time with the other shortlisted authors - @idanielpeak for dinner sharing @helenrutteruk for making me laugh so much @josephcoelhoauthor for the best dressed award and @mattgoodfellowpoet for making me 100 times cooler just by standing next to me, plus @prleathley you were sadly missed and @martinbrownillustrator (aka Mr Glangly Legs) you were lovely. And thanks to @piers_torday for the magical full circle moment of my comp author being the one to hand me this! 🤩
10/10 WOULD COME AGAIN!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Exactly 11 months ago today, my first book was published. I rushed down to @waterstonesipswich to see a real live copy, and there in the window was the shortlist for the Children's Book Prize. I clearly remember thinking, 'wow, just imagine if ONE DAY that could be me.'
AND HERE WE ARE! So this is your reminder to DREAM BIG and never stop believing that anything is possible. HUGE thank you to @waterstones_kids and all the amazing staff in every @waterstones who have helped get WILDLANDS into the hands of young (and old!) readers. And of course to the wonderful team @puffinbooksuk who made it all possible, and @tomclohosycole because, come on, all of us judge books by their cover!
And a MASSIVE congrats to the other shortlisted authors. Especially my fellow Young Readers category @huwaaron@janeenhayat@ashley__thorpe
And if it's a new one for you - WILDLANDS is a thrilling survival story featuring 2 sisters lost in a vast rewilding project, set in a near-future utopian Britain... 🌳 🐾❤️
#WCBP26 #childrensbook #MGreads #rewilding #naturekids
It's #ReadingHour on Thursday 23rd April at 7pm.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE READING?
I'm in the wild west of Ireland, where I've found some interesting nature fact booklets - including one in seaweed. I want to know what my nature writer friends @hannahgold_author@nicolapenfoldauthor@_jess_french and @benhoarewild will be reading...??
Reading Hour on #WorldBookNight is for everyone. You can read a print book, e-book, or listen to an audiobook. It doesn’t matter what, how, or where you read, as long as you enjoy it.
#NationalYearOfReading2026 #GoAllIn2026
@readingagency@go_all_in_2026
Well @waterstones_kids it's been one heck of a ride. Have loved seeing WILDLANDS in every window, and getting to visit so many lovely stores.
Getting shortlisted for the #waterstoneschildrensbookprize was genuinely a dream come true, and the reality didn't disappoint. Whatever happens at the ceremony tonight, I already feel like a winner.
#middlegradebooks #rewilding #kidlit #wcbp26
Just me getting VERY passionate about imagining a better future, and the issue with dystopian fiction, live on the radio - while the lovely @louiseonair tries valiantly to get a word in edgeways...
#rewilding #thrutopia #betterfuture #middlegradebooks #waterstoneschildrensbookprize
Don't miss out on this!
We have an event during half term on Tuesday 17th February, for WILDLANDS activities and meet Brogen Murphy for an author Q&A and book signing!
Activities start in the morning, and should last all day, with an author Q&A at 11am!
Pop on in and ask Booksellers for more information.
#thingstodoinipswich #bookevent #authorevent #thingstodowithkids
Chuffed to announce that 🌳WILDLANDS🌳 has been longlisted for the #branfordboaseaward 🏆 ! A brilliant award that celebrates debut authors alongside their fabulous editors.
So a big high five to @alsenas and the whole @puffinbooksuk team who have done so much to make Wildlands what it is. And congrats to the other longlisted titles.
#branfordboaseaward #branfordboaseaward2026 #debutauthor #middlegradebooks
🌳🐾🏅📚Wildlands has been shortlisted for the @redbridgelibraries Redbridge Book Awards 2026! 🌳 🐾 🏅📚
Thanks to the school librarians and students who chose the shortlist - and love that pupils all across Redbridge will now be reading the full shortlist to choose their favourite!
And big congrats to the other shortlisted books!
> @eveainsworth - Jellybean
> @emilyjane.clark - Cringe Club
> @hibanoorkhan1 - The Line They Drew Through Us
> @jamackay_ - Gloam
> @j_c_pearson - Shrapnel Boys
> @krahimwrites - The Doughnut Club
Very happy to see Wildlands on the @waterstones_kids list of 'Best Books of 2025'!
If you're looking ahead to fill any homespun hemp stockings this wintertide🎄- look no further for a great present for any young eco warriors! 😂
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🥇 Winner of the Wainwright Children's Prize for Fiction 2025 🥇
A UTOPIAN FUTURE. ✔️
A FORBIDDEN WILDERNESS. ✔️
TWO KIDS TRYING TO SURVIVE. ✔️
"Twenty-five years into the future, no humans are allowed in the Wildlands – a vast area in Britain where wolves, lynx and bison roam free. 🐗🌳🐺🌲🦬
The only exception is a high-speed train line between London and Glasgow that crosses right through the heart of the project. 🚆 Thirteen-year-old Astrid and her little sister, Indie, are onboard when their train slows to a brief, unexpected stop … and they find themselves accidentally left behind. 😮
Stranded in this place of astonishing natural wonders and terrible dangers, they have only a rucksack, a phone without signal – and each other. 🪫🎒👭🏽
As every wrong turn takes them deeper into the Wildlands, do they have the ingenuity and determination to survive?"
Wonderful reading scrapbook page from Ilaria in Eagle B - she absolutely loved Wildlands by @brogen_murphy and we’re sure this will inspire lots more pupils to read this fantastic book! 📚📚📚 #reading #ks2
