THE MOTH NATURE
WRITING PRIZE 2025 IS NOW OPEN
The Moth Nature
Writing Prize aims to encourage and celebrate the art of nature writing. It is
awarded annually to unpublished pieces of prose or poetry which best
combine exceptional literary merit with an exploration of the writers’
relationship with the natural world.
Each year a single
judge is asked to choose winners from entries worldwide. Previous judges
include Richard Mabey, Helen Macdonald, Max Porter, Kathleen Jamie and Cal Flyn.
The prize is open to
anyone over the age of sixteen, as long as the work is original and previously
unpublished.
THE
PRIZES
1st prize €1,000 and a week at The Moth Retreat in Ireland
2nd prize
€500
3rd prize
€250
THE JUDGE
Multi-award-winning author and naturalist, Mark Cocker, will
judge The Moth Nature Writing Prize 2025. Mark has written 13 books, including Crow
Country, A Claxton Diary and One Midsummer's Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth. He co-founded several environmental organisations, including the Oriental Bird Club and New Networks for Nature, and has been a country diarist for The Guardian for the past 38
years.
‘Profound knowledge, uncanny ability to observe and heartliftingly exact prose.’
The Times
HOW TO
ENTER
The Moth Nature Writing Prize is open to anyone over 16, as long as the work is
original and previously unpublished. There is a 4,000 maximum word limit (for prose and poetry).
The entry
fee is €15 per entry (a single poem or piece of prose). You you can enter as many times as you like, along with €15 entry fee.
You can
enter
online or
send your entry along with a cheque or postal order made payable to ‘The Moth
Magazine Ltd.’ with an
entry form or a cover letter with your name and contact
details and the title of your piece attached to: The Moth, Ardan Grange,
Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.
Please
read the rules before you enter.
The Prize closes 30 September 2025.
The winning entries will appear in the
Irish Times online.
You will need to subscribe to our mailing list if you wish to be notified of the results
Call 00
353 87 2657251 or email enquiries@themothmagazine.com for more details
TESTIMONIALS
‘Winning The Moth Nature Writing Prize with a poem written on the first UK island to declare a climate emergency is an honour that feels rooted in place.’ Anna Selby, 2024 winner
‘If you
are engaged with being alive on this planet just now … and you are not
terrified about the future half the time, you are not paying attention.’ Max
Porter, former judge
‘I wish that we would not fight for landscapes that remind us of who we think
we are. I wish we would fight, instead, for landscapes buzzing and glowing with
life in all its variousness.’ Helen Macdonald, former judge
‘The
answer to the still present threat of a silent spring is for us to sing against
the storm.’ Richard Mabey, former judge
‘What a
great competition to be running.’ Robert Macfarlane
‘It gives
me so much confidence and it is wonderful to have my writing out there and
enjoyed by others.’ Sammy Weaver, former winner
With this prize, I am grateful and honoured to
be part of an international literary community and I cannot wait to continue
the conversations with you.’ Libby B Bushell, former winner
‘I am
eternally grateful, however much of eternity I have left in me.’ Arne Weingart,
former winner
