Hannah Stowe has won the Adventure Travel award in this year’s Banff Centre Mountain Book Competition.

Move Like Water is an exploration of the human relationship with the sea, the powerful impression it has made on our culture, and the terrible damage we have inflicted upon its ecosystems. It was longlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize.

Jury member Tony Whittome said of the book:

“The visceral power of the sea and its hold on all who immerse themselves in its world are conjured with wonder in this beautifully written memoir. Exploring it through her own remarkable story as a mariner and marine biologist, and sharing with us hardships, dangers and accidents but above all her passion for the sea, Hannah Stowe shows us a sea-scape we might think we know but don’t. Featuring such emblematic sea creatures as the whale, the albatross and the humble but extraordinary barnacle, this is a siren song in vivid, exacting prose.”

Move Like Water was published by Granta in the UK and Tin House in North America. Hannah’s upcoming book, She, the Sea will be published in 2026.