Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is a sustained meditation on that which goes away--loved ones, the seasons, the earth as we know it--that tries to find solace in the processes of the garden and the orchard. That is, this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all--death, sorrow, loss--is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us. Ross Gay is the winner of the 2026 Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015. Paperback, 112 pp.

A beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. In this series of linked personal essays, Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses and reflects on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us. Robin Wall Kimmerer won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2021.
Oregon State University Press, 2003. Paperback, 168 pp.

A grand tour of the realm of all of our senses. We learn about the evolution of the kiss, the sadistic cuisine of eighteenth-century England, the chemistry of pain, and the melodies of the planet Earth. Diane Ackerman won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2015.
Vintage Books / Random House, 1990. Paperback, 331 pp.

In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, prizewinning poet and author Ross Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life's inevitable hardships. Throughout Inciting Joy, he explores how we can practice recognizing that connection, and also, crucially, how we can expand it. Taking a clear-eyed look at injustice, political polarization, and the destruction of the natural world, Gay shows us how we might resist, how the study of joy might lead us to a wild, unpredictable, transgressive, and unboundaried solidarity. In fact, it just might help us survive. In an era when divisive voices take up so much airspace, Inciting Joy offers a vital alternative: What might be possible if we turn our attention to what brings us together, to what we love? Ross Gay is the winner of the 2026 Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing. Algonquin Books, 2024. Paperback, 272 pp.

A spirited collection of short lyrical essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders. In The Book of Delights, one of today's most original literary voices offers up a genre-defying volume of lyric essays written over one tumultuous year. The first nonfiction book from award-winning poet Ross Gay is a record of the small joys we often overlook in our busy lives. Among Gay's funny, poetic, philosophical delights: a friend's unabashed use of air quotes, cradling a tomato seedling aboard an airplane, the silent nod of acknowledgment between the only two black people in a room. But Gay never dismisses the complexities, even the terrors, of living in America as a black man or the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture or the loss of those he loves. More than anything else, though, Gay celebrates the beauty of the natural world-his garden, the flowers peeking out of the sidewalk, the hypnotic movements of a praying mantis. The Book of Delights is about our shared bonds, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. These remarkable pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight. Ross Gay is the winner of the 2026 Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing. Algonquin Books, 2022. Paperback, 288 pp.

In this second intimate collection of short, lyrical, genre-defying essays, again written daily over a year, one of America's most original and observant voices celebrates the ordinary, helping us see our extraordinary world anew. Among Ross Gay's funny, poetic, philosophical delights: bonding with a pipsqueak of a puppy, observing how his mother bakes eighteen kinds of cookies before her grandchildren arrive, noticing the tenderness he feels when he sees an adult wearing braces, and the recognition that for him the preamble is often more delightful than the thing itself: "Putting on your socks and tying up your shoes, and, if you're the type, filling up your water bottle and doing some light stretching, but skipping the walk entirely." For Gay, practicing delight is an act of defiance in an often unjust world, as necessary as breathing. Even as he acknowledges racism, consumerism, ecological devastation, and our individual sorrows--he shows us that the un-delights make the delights even more so. As always, Gay revels in natural world--a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, the garlic that grows abundantly in his garden (along with collards and kale leaves and purple osaka mustards, pineapple sage, sweet potatoes, etc.), a field of sunflowers turning toward the sun, the shared bounty from a neighbor's fig tree--and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us. Ross Gay is the winner of the 2026 Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing. Algonquin Books, 2024. Paperback, 304 pp.

Terry Tempest Williams's fierce, spirited, and magnificent essays are a howl in the desert. She sizes up the continuing assaults on America's public lands and the erosion of our commitment to the open space of democracy. She asks: "How do we find the strength to not look away from all that is breaking our hearts?" These essays are her call to action, blazing a way forward through difficult and dispiriting times. This book was written for this moment, political and spiritual at once, written by one of our greatest naturalists, essayists, and defenders of the environment. She reminds us that beauty is its own form of resistance, and that water can crack stone. Terry Tempest Williams won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing in 2023.
Picador, 2020. Paperback, 334 pp.

Explores a new perspective on human evolution by examining the phenomenon of ultraendurance and makes surprising discoveries about the physical, spiritual, and primal drive to win. At once lyrical and scientific, this book shows Bernd Heinrich's signature blend of biology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, infused with his passion to discover how and why we can achieve super-human abilities. Bernd Heinrich won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2018.
Ecco, HarperCollins, 2002. Paperback, 292 pp.

Botanist and Native American Robin Wall Kimmerer shows that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return. Robin Wall Kimmerer won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2021.
Milkweed Editions, 2013. Paperback, 390 pp.

The authors explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. Here, Jane Goodall focuses on her Four Reasons for Hope: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit. Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, this book touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane's remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today. Jane Goodall has been named the winner of the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2022.
Celadon Books, 2021. Hardcover, 272 pp.

From the acclaimed nature writer and New York Times bestselling author, a revelatory work of narrative nonfiction exploring beauty, climate change, and transformative moments of hope in a world beset by uncertainty. Terry Tempest Williams won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing in 2023.
Grove Atlantic, 2026. Hardcover, 336 pp.

Highlights the revealing new science behind the keen intelligence and surprising social behavior of octopus species around the world. "Octopuses are having a moment," Montgomery writes, and this book celebrates them in all their shapes, colors, and capabilities. Including "octoprofiles" of 16 key species and glorious color photographs, this book brings these alluring creatures into view as never before. Sy Montgomery won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing in 2017.
National Geographic Society, 2024. Hardcover, 189 pp.

Offers a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and in law. Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: in Ecuador, in India, and in Quebec. This book will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers ... and always has. Robert Macfarlane won the Henry David Thoreau Prize for literary excellence in nature writing in 2025.
W. W. Norton, 2025. Hardcover, 374 pp.