Tag

Environment

Conservation, Memoir, Nature, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

Feb 26: Bad Naturalist – Paula Whyman

February 26, 2025

One Woman’s Attempt to Restore 200 Acres of Farmland in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Bad Naturalist with author Paula Whyman

With humor, humility, and awe, writer Paula Whyman faces her limitations, while getting to know a breathtaking corner of the natural world.

When she first climbed a peak in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains looking for a home in the country, she had no idea how little she knew about hands-on conservation, or how quickly her tidy backyard ecology project would grow into a massive endeavor.

From Bad Naturalist: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop we explore some of Paula’s many challenges, failures, and successes as she learns hour by hour how to work with nature and its seasons, with indigenous versus invasive growth, and nature … the ultimate boss.

Meet Paula Whyman

Paula Whyman’s new book, Bad Naturalist: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop, is a blend of memoir, natural history, and conservation science. Her short story collection You May See a Stranger, earned praise from The New Yorker, a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and won the Towson Prize for Literature. Paula Whyman’s stories have appeared in journals including McSweeney’s Quarterly and Virginia Quarterly Review, and her fiction was selected for the anthology Writes of Passage: Coming-of-Age Stories and Memoirs from The Hudson Review. Whyman’s nonfiction has been featured on NPR, and in the Washington Post, The American Scholar, and The Rumpus. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the literary journal Scoundrel Time.

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Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

NOV 10: Alice Henderson with A Blizzard of Polar Bears

November 10, 2021

Novel A Blizzard of Polar BearsAuthor of A Solitude of Wolverines

From writing official novels for TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, to creating a strong female protagonist in wildlife biologist, Alex Carter.

Alice Henderson’s love of wilderness, wildlife, and science inspired the Alex Carter thriller series. Today we are transported to Churchill, Manitoba for her latest adventure.

We discuss how Alice’s diverse background led to her dynamic career as a wildlife researcher and novelist. How her character, Alex Carter, came to her. Alice’s favorite, and least favorite, scenes to write. Some of the research that went into developing A Blizzard of Polar Bears. And, yes, of course we talked about polar bears, climate change, and nature!

About Alice Henderson

The author of more than 13 books, Alice Henderson is a dedicated wildlife researcher. She uses a variety of methods, including bioacoustic studies, to identify species present on conservation lands. Using geographic information systems, she also designs wildlife corridors. Alice Henderson has surveyed for the presence of grizzlies, wolves, spotted owls, wolverines, jaguars, endangered bats, and more.

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Conservation, Environment, Journalism, Social Issues

SEP 02: Multi-time Award-winning Filmmaker John de Graaf

September 11, 2019

“John de Graaf is one of the good guys in our world, always right there with the next important, life-affirming idea,” says The Giraffe Project’s Ann Medlock.  The late 70’s gave birth to John’s award-winning documentary film career that continues to this day.

Today, we’ll explore John’s career as a filmmaker and activist, and find out why he does what he does. We’ll hear about his latest film, REDEFINING PROSPERTIY, and some of the activism he’s engaged in. We’ll discover how John chooses projects, and how he navigated his own prolific creative path while still making a difference in people’s lives.

“I’m an author, filmmaker, speaker, and activist with a mission to help create a happy, healthy, and sustainable quality of life for America,” reads John’s mission statement.

With over 40 documentaries and countless short films to his credit, he has received over 100 regional, national, and international awards for filmmaking.  15 of his films have been broadcast nationally in primetime on PBS, and he has taught filmmaking at the University of Washington, Evergreen State College, and Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts.

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Conservation, Environment, Journalism, Social Issues

DEC 10: Award-winning Filmmaker John de Graaf

November 22, 2018

“John de Graaf is one of the good guys in our world, always right there with the next important, life-affirming idea,” says The Giraffe Project’s Ann Medlock.  Beginning in the late 70’s, John embarked on an award-winning documentary film career that continues to this day.

Today we’ll explore John’s extensive career as a filmmaker and activist, and why he does what he does. We’ll hear about his latest film, REDEFINING PROSPERTIY, and some of the activism he’s engaged in. We’ll discover how John chooses projects, and how he navigated his own prolific creative path while still making a difference in people’s lives.

“I’m an author, filmmaker, speaker, and activist with a mission to help create a happy, healthy, and sustainable quality of life for America,” reads John’s mission statement.

With over 40 documentaries and countless shorter films to his credit, he has received over 100 regional, national, and international awards for filmmaking.  15 of his films have been broadcast nationally in primetime on PBS, and he has taught filmmaking at the University of Washington, Evergreen State College, and Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts.

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Memoir, Travel & Adventure

Sep 25: One of These Things First & Razor Clams, Buried Treasure of the PNW

September 8, 2017

From his grandparent’s bra and girdle store, to a stint in one of the most fashionable psychiatric hospitals after a suicide attempt, Steven Gaines takes us on the tragically joyous ride of a 15-year-old Jewish boy in 1960’s Brooklyn.

One of These Things First includes conversion therapy and Broadway dreams, and an array of eccentric characters he met along the way. Steven is a noted journalist, bestselling novelist and biographer, whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, the New York Observer, and New York magazine, where he was a contributing editor for 12 years.

Also today, what has the power to draw thousands of people of all ages to the often blustery shores of Washington’s coastal beaches every year?

Seattle Times contributor and author David Berger shares the secrets of our regional razor clam phenomenon in Razor Clams:  Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest.  David Berger has worked as a visual arts critic for The Seattle Times, and started razor clamming when he moved to Washington.  You can see him at Third Place Books on October 5, at 7 PM.

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Conservation, Environment, Fiction, Memoir

July 03: A Million Fragile Bones & #1 Bestselling Author Julia Quinn

June 22, 2017

Connie May Fowler lives “on the edge of the world, alone except for the occasional boyfriend or husband, always in the company of pets, books, art, friends, (and) sundry wildlife.”  On April 10th, 2010, her idyllic existence was torn apart as a nearby oil rig exploded, spewing over 200 million gallons of oil that impacted nearly 70,000 miles of coastline.

In her memoir, A Million Fragile Bones, Connie documents the heartbreak and loss suffered at the hands of this man-made disaster, and the beauty and peace that followed as nature proved resilient.  She is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and teacher.

Later, for those who believe romance novels are fluff, author Julia Quinn is here to dispel the notion that intelligence and romantic storytelling are mutually exclusive.  She’ll also share what it takes to pen a #1 New York Times bestseller and discuss her new book, The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband.

Julia Quinn is a bestselling author specializing in historical romance.  She is one of only 16 members of Romance Writer’s of America’s Hall of Fame.

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Conservation, Environment, Fiction, Memoir

May 22: A Million Fragile Bones & #1 Bestselling Author Julia Quinn

May 15, 2017

Connie May Fowler lives “on the edge of the world, alone except for the occasional boyfriend or husband, always in the company of pets, books, art, friends, (and) sundry wildlife.”  On April 10th, 2010, her idyllic existence was torn apart as a nearby oil rig exploded, spewing over 200 million gallons of oil that impacted nearly 70,000 miles of coastline.

In her memoir, A Million Fragile Bones, Connie documents the heartbreak and loss suffered at the hands of this man-made disaster, and the beauty and peace that followed as nature proved resilient.  She is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and teacher.

Later, for those who believe romance novels are fluff, author Julia Quinn is here to dispel the notion that intelligence and romantic storytelling are mutually exclusive.  She’ll also share what it takes to pen a #1 New York Times bestseller and discuss her new book, The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband.

Julia Quinn is a bestselling author specializing in historical romance.  She is one of only 16 members of Romance Writer’s of America’s Hall of Fame.

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