A book that explores modern Britain by examining four “unloved” animals – eels, moths, crickets and mussels – has won this year’s Wainwright prize for nature writing.

Michael Malay, a lecturer in literature and environmental humanities at the University of Bristol, took home the award for Late Light, in which he tells his story of moving to the UK as an Indonesian Australian, drawing parallels with the lives of the animals he looks at.

In the conservation writing category, the ocean was the focus of the winning title. Blue Machine by Helen Czerski, a physicist and oceanographer, explores the vital role of the ocean in sustaining life on the rest of the planet.

Meanwhile, Katya Balen won the children’s nature and conservation writing category for her novel Foxlight, which follows twins searching through wildlands for their mother.

A £7,500 prize will be shared between the three winners, who were announced at a ceremony at Camley Street Natural Park, an urban nature reserve in London. The prizes celebrate books that encourage readers to embrace nature and develop respect for the environment.

“It’s wonderfully heartwarming to witness the emergence of a new generation of outstandingly talented writers, exposing the genre and its increasingly salient themes to ever larger and more diverse audiences,” said prize director Alastair Giles.

In Late Light, Malay “portrays his evolving emotional and intellectual relationships with people, place and nature in a way that’s very easy to get on board with, while still having moments of beautiful prose that uplift the reading experience,” said Khalil Thirlaway, a biologist and presenter who chaired the nature writing judges.

Dispersals by Jessica J Lee was highly commended in the category. Other shortlisted books included The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing and Local by Alastair Humphreys.

In the conservation category winner Blue Machine, readers are “immersed into the world of the ocean with spectacular detail, from the minuscule to the macroscopic, guided through the ocean’s anatomy and introduced to the people who live in intimate relationships with it,” said conservation category judging chair Joycelyn Longdon, an environmental justice researcher and founder of education platform Climate in Colour.

Highly commended for conservation writing was Groundbreakers by Chantal Lyons. Other titles shortlisted included Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis and Fire Weather by John Vaillant, which won last year’s Baillie Gifford prize.

Previous Wainwright prize winners include James Rebanks, Merlin Sheldrake, Robert Macfarlane and Amy Liptrot. In 2023, Amy-Jane Beer won the nature writing category with The Flow, while Guy Shrubsole won the conservation category for The Lost Rainforests of Britain.

The prize “feels ever more important as we confront the realities of a world in crisis, but as this year’s winners prove, it’s equally important to reflect on finding peace and connection with the natural world, and to inspire younger generations to become better environmental stewards than those before them,” said Giles.

Late Light by Michael Malay (Bonnier, £10.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.