A summer spent with Europe’s last nomadic pastoralists, a journey across the US by Greyhound bus and an epic walk across the Alps in the footsteps of a wolf. These are a few of the stories told by the six shortlisted books for the inaugural Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing, set up to recognise a published British or European author whose work encourages understanding between peoples and across societies.
The winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced at the Sherborne Travel Writing Festival in April – the fourth edition of the UK’s only festival dedicated to travel literature. The judging panel, consisting of renowned travel writer Colin Thubron, author Sara Wheeler and literary agent Emma Paterson, selected the shortlisted titles from 70 submissions.
Wheeler is among the speakers at the festival set up by travel writer Rory MacLean (of Magic Bus fame), which returns to the Powell Theatre in the Dorset town over the long weekend of 10-12 April 2026.
The six shortlisted titles
Russia Starts Here by Howard Amos
A personal quest to understand contemporary Russia by exploring the melancholy corners of forgotten Slavic region Pskov.
Anima: A Wild Pastoral by Kapka Kassabova
A gripping account of transhumance – the seasonal movement of vast herds of sheep, along with shepherds and dogs.
Is A River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
The Underland and The Old Ways author proposes that rivers are indeed living beings and their fate flows in tandem with ours.
Greyhound by Joanna Pocock
A cross-country bus journey from Detroit to Los Angeles, both retracing the author’s own steps and following those of renowned female writers.
Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Human Cost of Russia’s War by Jen Stout
The Scottish reporter’s stories from night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers convey the human toll of the war in Ukraine.
Lone Wolf by Adam Weymouth
Follows a remarkable wolf through the Alps from Slovenia to Italy, throwing light on Europe’s mountainous hinterland.
