{{short description|English writer and sheep farmer}} {{use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = James Rebanks | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1974}} | birth_place = | education = University of Oxford (BA) | awards = Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing (2021) | website = | module = {{Infobox writer | embed=yes | genre = Pastoral | notable_works = ''The Shepherd's Life'' }} }} '''James Rebanks''' (born 1974)<ref name="desert">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00024rb|publisher=BBC Radio 4|work=Desert Island Discs|title=James Rebanks, Shepherd and Writer|date=25 January 2019|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> is an English sheep farmer and author, from Matterdale in Cumbria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/caitlin-moran-meets-james-rebanks-lake-district-sheep-farmer-turned-twitter-activist-ng9kchmkz|work=The Times|title=Caitlin Moran meets James Rebanks, Lake District sheep farmer turned Twitter activist|first=Caitlin|last=Moran|authorlink=Caitlin Moran|date=4 September 2020|access-date=28 December 2021|issn=0140-0460}}{{subscription required}}</ref> His first book, the autobiography ''The Shepherd's Life'', was published in 2015,<ref name=tsl>{{cite book|first=James|last=Rebanks|title=The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District|date=2 April 2015|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=978-1846148545}} </ref> and he published ''English Pastoral'' in 2020.<ref name=pastoral>{{cite book|first=James|last=Rebanks|title=English Pastoral: an inheritance|date=3 September 2020|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=9780241245729}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/03/english-pastoral-by-james-rebanks-review-how-to-look-after-the-land|work=The Guardian|title=English Pastoral by James Rebanks review – how to look after the land|first=Blake|last=Morrison|date=3 September 2020|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> He also published ''The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd'' in 2015<ref name=tihs>{{cite book|first=James|last=Rebanks|title=The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd|date=5 November 2015|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=9781846148903}}</ref> and ''The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape'' in 2016.<ref name=tsv>{{cite book|first=James|last=Rebanks|title=The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape|date=18 October 2016|publisher=Flatiron Books|location=London|isbn=978-1250103369}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Rebanks left school at the age of 16 to work on his family's farm with two GCSEs in woodworking and religious studies.<ref name=tsl/> He took A levels at evening classes in Carlisle before studying at Magdalen College, Oxford,<ref name=tsl/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5mpgT5k3tSNsGBSc0kBD7fg/james-rebanks-one-shepherd-and-his-beloved-herdwick-sheep|publisher=BBC Radio 4|work=The Shepherd's Life|title=James Rebanks: One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep|quote=People think travel broadens the mind, I'm not so sure. I think a focus on, and love of, one place can make people rather sensible, decent, and wise|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> where he achieved a double first in history.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/james-rebanks-farmer-and-best-selling-author-shepherd-s-life-dealing-new-found-fame-while-delivering-lambs-10221672.html|work=The Independent|first=Helen|last=Carter|title=The farmer and best-selling author of The Shepherd's Life talks about dealing with new-found fame|date=2 May 2015|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>
==Career== Following his degree, Rebanks returned to farming, which he continues to do, specialising in Herdwick sheep but moving towards a more mixed farm. He has also run a consultancy based at his farm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rebanksconsultingltd.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327050927/http://rebanksconsultingltd.com|work=Rebanks Consulting Ltd|title=About us|archive-date=27 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="kellaway">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/03/shepherd-james-rebanks-ambition-to-be-a-really-good-nobody|work=The Guardian|title=Shepherd James Rebanks: 'My ambition is to be a really good nobody'|first=Kate|last=Kellaway|date=3 May 2015|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> He was involved in the bid for the Lake District to receive World Heritage status (which was approved by UNESCO in 2017),<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/10683582/The-hill-farmers-fighting-for-their-livelihoods.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=The hill farmers fighting for their livelihoods|first=Harriet|last=Fraser|date=8 March 2014|access-date=28 December 2021}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/books/james-rebanks-man-of-sheep-man-of-letters.html|work=The New York Times|title=James Rebanks, Man of Sheep, Man of Letters (Published 2015)|first=Roslyn|last=Sulcas|date=5 June 2015|access-date=28 December 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{subscription required}}</ref> and {{as of|lc=yes|December 2020|}} had a following of 141,667 on Twitter as "Herdwick Shepherd" (@herdyshepherd1).
In 2018 he resigned from a government panel set up by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove, and also took a break from Twitter after the composition of the panel was criticised by environmentalists as being biased towards the farming community.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/24/twitters-favourite-shepherd-quits-government-review-national|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Twitter's favourite shepherd quits government review of National Parks after three days due to 'cretinous attacks' from environmentalists|date=24 June 2018|access-date=28 December 2021}}{{subscription required}}</ref>
In 2019 he appeared on BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs''. His chosen music included tracks by Rachmaninoff, Nina Simone, and Kirsty MacColl (the choice he would rescue from the waves); his chosen book was ''The Old Man and the Sea'' by Ernest Hemingway, and his luxury was pen and paper.<ref name=desert/> He has also appeared on BBC Radio 3's ''Private Passions''<ref name="radio3">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tdhz|publisher=BBC Radio 3|work=Private Passions|title=James Rebanks|date=21 March 2021|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> and Radio 4's ''On Your Farm''.<ref name="onyourfarm">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05tbs6m|publisher=BBC Radio 4|work=On Your Farm|title=James Rebanks, the Herdy Shepherd|date=10 May 2015|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref> In December 2021 he guest-edited Radio 4's ''Today'' programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012s7d|title=Today|work=BBC Radio 4|date=28 December 2021|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>
In 2021 ''English Pastoral'' won the Wainwright Prize in the Nature Writing category''.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/07/wainwright-prize-for-nature-writing-goes-to-james-rebanks-for-english-pastoral|work=The Guardian|title=Wainwright prize for nature writing goes to James Rebanks for English Pastoral|first=Alison|last=Flood|date=7 September 2021|access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>''
He spent a season on the island of Færøy in the Vega Archipelago off northern Norway, learning about the traditional practice of caring for wild eider ducks and gathering their down. His book describing this time, ''The Place of Tides'', was shortlisted for the Stanford Travel Book of the Year in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peirson-Hagger |first1=Ellen |title=The Place of Tides by James Rebanks review – a warming tale of gathering eiderdown in Norway |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/13/the-place-of-tides-james-rebanks-review-norway-eider-duck-down |access-date=12 October 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=13 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkins |first1=Will |title=The Place of Tides by James Rebanks — an elegiac tale of the ‘duck women’ of the far north |url=https://www.ft.com/content/c5fbdc4d-fhttps://www.ft.com/content/c5fbdc4d-fa94-47f9-80a6-a0c769bffc02 |access-date=12 October 2025 |work=www.ft.com |date=14 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 April 2025 |title=Shortlists for the 2025 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards presented by Viking |url=https://www.stanfords.co.uk/edward-stanford-travel-writing-awards-shortlists |access-date=8 April 2025 |website=Stanfords |archive-date=22 January 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122022315/https://www.stanfords.co.uk/edward-stanford-travel-writing-awards-shortlists}}</ref>
==Selected publications== *{{cite book|title=The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District|date=2 April 2015|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|isbn=978-1846148545 |title-link=The Shepherd's Life}} *{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd|date=5 November 2015|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=9781846148903}} *{{cite book|title=The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape|date=18 October 2016|publisher=Flatiron|location=London|isbn=978-1250103369}} *{{cite book|title=English Pastoral: an inheritance|date=3 September 2020|publisher=Allen Lane |location=London|isbn=9780241245729}} (published in North America as ''Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey.'' 3 August 2021. Custom House. {{ISBN|978-0063073272}}) *{{cite book |title=The Place of Tides | date=17 October 2024 | publisher=Allen Lane | isbn=978-0241426937}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://twitter.com/herdyshepherd1 @herdyshepherd1 (official Twitter account)]
{{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebanks, James}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century English farmers Category:21st-century English memoirists Category:Shepherds Category:English agricultural writers Category:English nature writers Category:English non-fiction writers Category:Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Category:People from Matterdale