Diary of a Young Naturalist
By Dara McAnulty

WINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history.'Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving'and Observer'Dara is an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical'and Robert Macfarlane'It's a diary but essentially timeless . . . It's really, really special'and Chris PackhamALSO WINNER OF: THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2020, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR 2020, BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION 2020; SHORTLISTED FOR: WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 andamp; LONGLISTED FOR: THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020___________'This diary chronicles the turning of my world, from spring to winter, at home, in the wild, in my head.'Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through the eyes of Dara McAnulty, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist.Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild - with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more - McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning world of nature writing that is a future classic.Diary of a Young Naturalistand is aand powerfuland andand scintillatingand portrayal of theand beauty of the natural world,and as it shines a light on autism and ofand overcoming severe anxiety. It is a story of theand binding love of familyand and home, and howand we can help each otherand through the most difficult of times.___________BIG ISSUEand BOOK OF THE YEARHAY FESTIVAL BOOK OF THE YEARAand TIMESand NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR'An extraordinary diary'and The Times'A torrent of pure, unmediated fervour . . . This is writing at its wild and unruly best'and Dr Rachel Clarke'Diary of a Young Naturalistand is not only one of the finest pieces of modern nature writing produced on this island in recent years, McAnulty is one of our best young writers in any genre'and Irish Independent'An exceptional new voice. Dara McAnulty celebrates nature in such a fresh way and illuminatesour understanding of autism'and Martha Kearney, chair of the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020'One of the most talented and passionate writers of our era'and Steve Silberman, award-winning author ofand NeuroTribes