Mark Cocker is an author and naturalist whose thirteen books include works of biography, history, literary criticism and memoir. His book Crow Country was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2008 and won the New Angle Prize for Literature in 2009. With the photographer David Tipling he published Birds and People in 2013, a massive survey described by the Times Literary Supplement as 'a major literary event as well as an ornithological one.' Our Place- Can We Save Britain's Wildlife Before It Is Too Late? was described by the Sunday Times as 'impassioned, expert and always beautifully written ... a sobering and magnificent work.' His most recent book, A Claxton Diary, won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award in 2019.
After Mark Cocker's glorious book, you will never look at a blackberry bush the same way again. -- Philip Hoare New Statesman If your eye has ever been caught by a moth, owl, jay or ash tree, Claxton has something new to tell about it, about Britain, and about life - which is an infinite compilation of exquisite detail. -- Horatio Clare, 5 stars Daily Telegraph The book is spectacular... Brilliant natural-history writing. -- Jonathan Wright Herald At once charming and unsentimental, these short pieces educate and delight. -- Stephanie Cross, 5 stars Lady Cocker is a sharp-eyed, knowledgeable and accessible writer... Makes one look again at the world outdoors with renewed awe and wonder. -- Ben East Metro