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Winners

Learn about the 2026 winner of the Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability: No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper (Celadon Books 2025)

Book cover for "No New Things" by Ashlee Piper, showing bold white text on a yellow background with a shopping cart icon and the subtitle "A 30-day guide to saving money, the planet, and sanity."

About the Author


Ashlee Piper is a sustainability expert whose work has been featured on more than 300 TV segments, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN, and in Vogue, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Newsweek. She has spoken at the United Nations and SXSW and has a popular TED talk. No New Things is her second book. 

About the Book

No New Things persuasively describes the rise of “conditioned consumerism” and the ways that continually buying things depletes our time, money, and mental bandwidth — and harms the planet. The book offers daily action items that guide readers through 30 days of buying nothing new and the unexpected freedom and fulfillment that comes with that shift. 

2026 Shortlist

A Climate of Truth: Why We need It and How to Get It by Mike Berners-Lee (Cambridge University Press)

We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate by Michael Grunwald (Simon and Schuster)

No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper (Celadon Books)

The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters by Christine Webb (Penguin Random House)

Past Winners

Winner

Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World by Edward Humes (Avery)

Described as both "engrossing" and "convincing" (Kirkus Reviews), Total Garbage addresses a provocative question: What if climate change, plastic pollution, and the energy crisis are driven by a single enemy — waste — and it’s something we can fix? Through story-driven narrative and thorough investigation, this book exposes the waste in our daily lives and demonstrates how to replace waste with prosperity, joy, and health.

Shortlist

Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age by Akshat Rathi (Greystone Books)

Into the Clear Blue Sky: the Path to Restoring Our Atmosphere by Rob Jackson (Simon & Schuster)

The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It by Genevieve Guenther (Oxford University Press)

Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World by Edward Humes (Avery)

Winner

The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life by Johan Eklof (Scribner)

Praised as “rich in revelation and insight…lyrical” by The Wall Street Journal, The Darkness Manifesto draws attention to the hidden impact of our constantly illuminated world. All living organisms have evolved to operate in the natural cycle of day and night. In this book, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf describes the widespread effects of artificial light on insects, birds, and even humans, ultimately advocating for the preservation of natural darkness.

Shortlist

The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle (Simon & Schuster)

The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life by Johan Eklof (Scribner)

Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope by Joëlle Gergis (Island Press)

Carbon Colonialism: How Rich Countries Export Climate Breakdown by Laurie Parsons (Manchester University Press)

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