We often hear of the wonderful writers from years ago (and many of them are profiled on this site). But who are today’s good nature writers, trying to inspire and reverse (through the power of the pen) damage done by industry and politics?
Robert MacFarlane (below) has just co-written a beautiful (and hopeful) book on nature for children: The World to Come.
Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris (artist)
Robert Macfarlane is a fellow of Emmanuel College (Cambridge) and has written phenomenal books on nature including Underland and The Lost Words (a giant book recounting lost words of nature, alongside Welsh artist Jackie Morris).
Stephen Morris
Stephen Moss is is a natural historian who teaches writing at Bath University, and is best known for producing TV programs featuring bird-watching Bill Oddie.
The book above is just one of a series that you can find at the bookshop: he’s also written books on skylarks, robins, wrens and many other native wildlife (not just birds!)
Paul Kingsnorth
Paul Kingsnorth has been called ‘England’s greatest living writer’ even though he now lives in western Ireland. A former deputy editor of The Ecologist magazine, his book Real England looked at how globalisation was destroying orchards to village pubs.
Today he has converted from ‘eco paganism’ to find peace as an Orthodox Christian, and strongly believes that faith and religion are the way to find our way back, to protecting the planet.
His recent profiles of ‘lives of the wild saints‘ is soon to be published as a book. And his new book Against the Machine (on how technology is starting to take over spirituality) is due to publish in September 2025.
You’ll never see a bee who seems lost, never see a bee who doesn’t seem at home in this world. It is only humans who aren’t at home here. Paul Kingsnorth
