Marchelle Farrell is the winner of the 2021 Nan Shepherd Prize!

16 December 2021

The winner of the 2021 Nan Shepherd Prize, announced today, is Marchelle Farrell. Her remarkable winning book, Uprooting, will be published by Canongate in 2023. Uprooting is the story of Marchelle Farrell’s journey, as a Black Caribbean immigrant to the UK, of seeking belonging in an English country garden.

You can find out more about Uprooting, as well as all the shortlisted and longlisted submissions for this year’s prize, at the Nan Shepherd Prize website.

The Nan Shepherd Prize is a biennial literary prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing. It aims to celebrate nature writing, provide an inclusive platform for new and emerging writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and to discover brilliant new voices.

The prize is run by Caroline Clarke (Senior Rights Manager) and Megan Reid (Assistant Editor) at Canongate, who said: ‘This year’s shortlist was exceptionally strong, and the judges had a very tough decision. But everyone who read Marchelle’s work was blown away – from the in-house Canongate readers to the judging panel. Uprooting promises to be a powerful piece of non-fiction, one that will expand the definition of nature writing, which is exactly what the prize aims to do. Marchelle’s writing is strong, engaging and captivating, and we’re absolutely thrilled she’s won the 2021 Nan Shepherd Prize and delighted to welcome her to Canongate.’

Marchelle said: ‘I am completely blown away. What an honour, to be selected from that shortlist! And what an opportunity, to share my little thread of the huge web of story that connects gardens and people in the Caribbean with gardens and people here.’

Congratulations to Marchelle!

nanshepherdprize.com / @nanprize (Twitter/Instagram)