Lakeland Book of the Year
Lakeland Book of the Year celebrates top quality writing inspired by the Lake District, Cumbria. Over the past four decades, this prestigious annual competition has seen authors create an incredible catalogue of books covering a range of rich and varied subjects, from landscape and tradition to literature and poetry.
Founded in 1984 by prolific author, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies OBE, all entries for Lakeland Book of the Year must be set in – or feature – Cumbria in some way. Grace Dent, Rory Stewart and James Rebanks are among the many talented writers who have previously scooped the overall title of ‘Book of the Year’.
Cumbria Tourism has had the honour of supporting Lakeland Book of the Year for many years and in 2023, we are taking over the full running of the awards. Fresh additions include a new category for children and young adults, along with a new-look judging panel.
This year’s awards will be held at The Inn on the Lake, Glenridding on Tuesday 11th July.
Congratulations to the below titles which have made it on to our final shortlist!
The Bill Rollinson Prize for Landscape & Tradition
Forty Farms, Amy Bateman
Lost in the Lakes, Tom Chesshyre
Westmorland, the Changing Hills, John Dunning
The Latitude Press Prize for Illustration & Presentation
Centre Stage, Andy Park
My Lakeland, Jim Watson
Waterbird, Ian Gee
The Bookends Prize for People & Business
Between Before and After, Edita Mujkic
Countess Ossalinsky and the Thirlmere Dam, Ian Hall
Minnie’s Scrapbook, Gary Johnston
The Wordsworth Prize for Literature & Poetry
163 Days, Hannah Hodgson
Jardiniere, Kerry Derbishire
North Country: An Anthology of Landscape & Nature, Karen Lloyd (ed)
The Eric Robson Striding Edge Productions Prize for Guides & Places
Cumbria Rocks, Ian Jackson
Extreme Lakeland, Nadir Khan and Tom McNally
Lakeland Fell Running for Mortals, John Myatt
The Gilpin Hotel Prize for Fiction
The Age of Reason, Frances McCrickard
The Bingo Hall Detectives, Jonathan Whitelaw
Till all the Seas, Jane Whiteford

2022 Winners:

The Hunter Davies Lakeland Book of the Year 2022:
Panic as Man Burns Crumpets by Roger Lytollis

The full list of 2022 category winners included:

The Bookends Prize for People & Business
Panic as Man Burns Crumpets by Roger Lytollis

The Striding Edge Prize for Guides & Places
Peak Bagging: Wainwrights by Karen & Dan Parker

The Bill Rollinson Prize for Landscape & Tradition
The Lucks of Cumbria by Andrew Musgrave

The Gilpin Hotel Prize for Fiction
Brockenspectre by Caroline Moir

The Wordsworth Grasmere Prize for Literature & Poetry
Cumbria: A Book of Days by Dawn Robertson

The Latitude Press Prize for Illustration & Presentation
Joss Naylor’s Lakes, Meres and Waters of the Lake District by Vivienne Crow with Joss Naylor
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Get In Touch
For more information about Lakeland Book of the Year, contact Ben Melling on bmelling@cumbriatourism.org