The Company of Owls

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2025

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Share in the company of owls in this nocturnal love song? From the author of Some of Us Just Fall, longlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

 

‘I couldn’t put down this warm and comforting, beautiful book.’ Ajay Tegala, author of Wetland Diaries

 

In the woods above Polly Atkin’s home in Grasmere, Cumbria live the tawny owls she calls her neighbours. Each night, they come down to her cottage at dusk, calling out as night falls – in particular a trio of owlets she watches grow from fledglings to young adults.

 

As the antics of the owl siblings develop – their capacity to play, to bicker, to share and to protect – they encourage her to think differently about some of the big needs of all our lives: solitude and companionship, care and belonging, rest and retreat. And into the frame step questions about all sorts of relationships, from how we feel when in darkness to the homes and connection we so desperately seek.

 

The Company Of Owls is a love song to these incredible creatures, and a reflection on what makes them, and us, unique. It’s a call to find joy in unexpected places and times. It is a lesson in learning to listen – to really listen – when all around us seems clamour and noise.

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‘Rarely have I found a book so transporting, so moving.’ Jessica J. Lee, author of Dispersals

 

‘A beautiful guide to moving through this world with tender curiosity, joy and reflection.’ Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean