The Instant, by Amy Liptrot, has been shortlisted in this year’s prestigious James Cropper Wainwright Prize for nature writing.

This is the second novel by the Orcadian author whose first novel. ‘The Outrun’, won in the same category in 2016.

The James Cropper Wainwright prize shares the £7,500 award between three winners: Nature Writing; Writing on Conservation; Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation.

“Liptrot follows up the Wainwright Prize-winning nature classic The Outrun with an intensely intimate and erotically charged account of her time looking for love in Berlin that interweaves observations about the city’s wildlife with her own compelling narrative.

“Wishing to leave the quiet isolation of her Orkney island life, Amy Liptrot books a one-way flight to Berlin. Searching for new experiences, inspiration and love, she rents a loftbed in a shared flat and looks for work. She explores the streets, nightclubs and parks and seeks out the city’s wildlife – goshawks, raccoons and hooded crows. She looks for love through the screen of her laptop.

“Over the course of a year Amy makes space hoping for the unexpected. And it comes with an erotic jolt, in the form of a love affair that obsesses her.

“The Instant is an unapologetic look at the addictive power of love and lust. It is also an exploration of the cycles of the moon, the flight paths of migratory birds, the mesmerising power of Neolithic stonework and the trails followed by a generation who exist online.” Waterstones

For the full list of the shortlisted books click on this link: James Cropper Wainwright Prize

Commenting on Twitter Amy Liptrot said:

“I’m so pleased that THE INSTANT has been shortlisted for the @wainwrightprize for nature writing. The book relates to the natural world in personal, subjective, non-traditional way and this is a big endorsement and boost. I’m also really pleased to see my @canongatebooks stablemate @annamfleming on the shortlist, for her excellent TIME ON ROCK which I found so interesting about rock climbing and geology. “