Tim Winton to appear at 2023 Nature Writing Prize announcement

In November, Tim Winton will deliver a keynote presentation at the announcement of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Australia 2023 Nature Writing Prize at RMIT The Capitol in Melbourne.

Since 2011, the biennial Nature Writing Prize has awarded literary creatives from budding novelists to published authors, including Gregory Day (2021), Jenny Sinclair and Sue Castrique (2019), Sophie Cunningham (2017), Nick Gadd (2015), Stephen Wright (2014) and Annamaria Weldon (2011).

TNC Australia Managing Director, Alison Rowe, said writers at all stages of their career enter the Prize.

“Every tale weaves a beautiful, personal connection to this incredible land and we want to share those stories. Personal connection is essential to amplifying the message that protecting and restoring nature is a priority,” said Rowe.

“We are so excited to welcome Tim Winton in a rare public appearance to this year’s event. His cultural impact, from the arts and sciences, to environmental education and conservation policy, resonates so closely with the ongoing work of TNC,” explained Rowe.

Tim Winton is the author of 29 books. His work is translated into 28 languages and adapted for film, television, theatre and opera. He is listed as a National Living Treasure and received an Order of Australia (AO) in June 2023 for distinguished service to literature as an author and novelist, to conservation and to environmental advocacy.

This year the Prize entries are assessed and judged by novelist, essayist and editor Ashley Hay, along with writer and environmental historian Cameron Muir.

The judges will review summitted essays (3,000 to 5,000 words) on the genre of “Writing of Place” and award the Prize to an Australian writer whose entry of the highest literary merit and which best explores their relationship and interaction with some aspect of the Australian landscape.

The TNC Australia Nature Writing Prize promotes and celebrates the art of nature writing in Australia as well as to encourage a greater appreciation of Australia’s magnificent landscapes.

The AUD$7,500 Prize is generously sponsored by the McLean Foundation. The Prize recipient will also have an opportunity for publication in The Monthly at the discretion of the Schwartz Media editorial team.

An additional author will receive the Rosina Joy Buckman Award, an AUD$1,000 highly commended award thanks to the generous support of Life at Springfield.

2023 The Nature Writing Prize announcement

Keynote address by Tim Winton
Wednesday, 22 November 2023
6.30pm for a 7pm start
RMIT The Capitol, 113 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Tickets: $15 – $30

Booking thecapitol.tv/event/nature-writing-prize
Nature Writing Prize natureaustralia.org.au/nwp
TNC Australia natureaustralia.org.au