Writing ecological emergency with Rebecca Giggs

In this episode, Jessica White chats with Rebecca Giggs about her beautiful nonfiction book Fathoms: The World in the Whale and how she translates abstracted aspects of the ecological emergency—like its unfathomable scale—into a visceral narrative that is relatable for readers.Rebecca Giggs is an award-winning author from Perth, Australia. Rebecca writes about how people feel toward animals in a time of ecological crisis and technological change. Her debut nonfiction book, Fathoms: The World in the Whale, came out in 2020 with Simon & Schuster (US), and Scribe (Aus/UK). In the US Fathoms was awarded the prestigious 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. The book also listed as a finalist in the Kirkus Prize and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. In Australia, Fathoms won the 2020 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Prize for Literature, the Royal Zoological Society's Whitley Award for Popular Zoology, and the WA Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer. It was also shortlisted for the 2021 Stella Prize — Australia's most renown award for writing by women and non-binary authors in any genre. Recently the book was distinguished by being 'Highly Commended' in the shortlist for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation.Rebecca's essays and articles have appeared in Best Australian Science Writing and Best Australian Essays, as well as in The Atlantic, Granta, The New York Times Magazine, and Griffith Review. Her topics span jellyfish swarms, how sea-turtles fare in heatwaves, the history of leeches as weather prediction devices, and whether cows have friends. Purchase Fathoms: The World in the Whale:  https://bit.ly/2ZEy2CkThe Science Write Now (SWN) Podcast is a 3x/monthly podcast for people who love science and the arts. If you’re interested in learning more about great books, plays, and films; writing, research or editing; the lives of scientists; and creative insights into contemporary science … then you’ve come to the right place! The SWN Podcast is hosted by Amanda Niehaus and Jessica White and produced by Taylor Mitchell with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts.You can also find and follow us online - on Twitter - on Instagram - and on Facebook! Our opening song is 'Balmain' by Pure Milk: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pure-milk.htmlEnjoyed this episode? Share the SWN love!If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it far and wide. Science Write Now is dedicated to accessibility, connectivity, inspiration and collaboration across disciplines. Our content is free to access and we want to keep it that way, so if you’re keen to be part of this growing community of creative writing inspired by science, hit subscribe!We’ll be back with another episode soon, and more conversations inspired by science and creativity to come!We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People, Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is created, and the unceded cultural lands on which our guests live and continue to make and tell stories.