John Yunker
Flyway short fiction contest is now accepting entries
The environmental literary journal Flyway has launched a short fiction contest: The Sweet Corn Short fiction contests celebrates fiction about the environment. We interpret “the environment” broadly here and encourage work that surprises us with your interpretation of the word. We’re looking for fiction that focuses on place, environmental issues, the urban environment, or perhaps …
Residency opportunity in France for environmental and nature writers
This looks like a wonderful place to spend a month writing: Secluded in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, at the end of an ancient stone track, Bordeneuve is a rustic, woodland retreat for artists, musicians and writers. We are delighted to announce that we will be granting a one-month residency in 2014 to a …
Book Review: Moby-Dick; or The Whale by Herman Melville
It is difficult to separate Moby-Dick, the book, from Moby-Dick, the whale. Both are epic in scale, and both have been met with wildly different perceptions and interpretations. You only need to browse Amazon reviews to get a taste. I’ve now read this book twice, and I can’t say that the second time around was any …
Call for Writers: Voices for Biodiversity
Anthropologist Tara Waters Lumpkin is founder and executive director of a nonprofit project and e-zine called Voices for Biodiversity. Our goal is to provide a multimedia platform where citizen eco-reporters can share their stories about biodiversity and their relationships to other species and the ecosystems that support us all. We hope to awaken humanity to the …
Q&A with Barbara King, author of How Animals Grieve
How Animals Grieve is an important book about the inner lives of animals. In April, author Barbara King was kind enough to answer of a few of my questions about the book and what inspired her to write it and how people have reacted to it so far. If you haven’t had a chance to …
Book Review: The Monkey Wrench Gang
Whenever I speak to people about the eco-fiction, this book is the most commonly mentioned. And it should be. It’s the first book to put a name and face to the movement to protect the planet — or at least “throw a monkey wrench” in developments. Published in 1975, many aspects of the book are …
Book Review: Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police
So what is this book doing on EcoLit Books? Bear with me. Let me first back up about five years. I was researching my novel The Tourist Trail, wondering to what extent law enforcement agencies had tried to infiltrate animal rights groups. I had heard firsthand of an attempt of the FBI to infiltrate The Sea …
Book Review: Penguins: Natural History and Conservation
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a longtime fan of co-author Dee Boersma’s work. Years ago, I was part of a volunteer project at Punta Tombo, assisting Dee and her team with a penguin census. It was a week that changed the direction of my life in ways I couldn’t possibly …
Writing for animals: Advice for writers of animal rights fiction
In mainstream fiction today, “normal” characters tend to be carnivores, or at least omnivores, and “fringe” characters tend to be vegetarian or vegan. Naturally, I disagree with this distinction. But I also understand that most writers are simply following convention, simply writing about the world as they see it today. But the world is changing. …
