PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

The PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) for writing that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of physical and biological sciences.[1] The award includes a cash prize of $10,000.[2]

The award was founded by scientist and author Dr. Edward O. Wilson, activist and actor Harrison Ford, and the E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation.[2] The award was inaugurated in 2011.[3]

Examples of published works that exemplify the quality of writing the award is designed to acknowledge include Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) and James Watson's The Double Helix (1969), which contribute 'to the public’s understanding of scientific principles at work in the world today.'[2]

The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centers around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.[4]

Award winners

PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award winners and runners-up
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2011 Siddhartha Mukherjee The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Winner [5][6][7]
David Abram Becoming Animal Runner-up [5][6]
2012 James Gleick The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood Winner [8][9][7][10]
Donovan Hohn Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them Runner-up [8][9][11]
2013 Leonard Mlodinow Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior Winner [12][13][7]
David G. Haskell The Forest Unseen Runner-up [12][13]
2014 Carl Hart High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society Winner [14][15][7]
2015 Joshua Horwitz War of the Whales: A True Story Winner [16][17][7]
2016 Lauren Redniss Thunder & Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future Winner [18][7]
Cynthia Barnett Rain: A Natural and Cultural History Shortlist [19]
Joel K. Bourne Jr. The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World Shortlist [19]
Tom Clynes The Boy Who Played with Fusion: Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star Shortlist [19]
Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World Shortlist [19]
2017 Luke Dittrich Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets Winner [7][20]
Dan Flores Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History Shortlist [21][20]
Julian Guthrie How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of a Private Spaceflight Shortlist [21][20]
Hope Jahren Lab Girl Shortlist [21][20]
Emily Voigt The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish Shortlist [21][20]
2018 Lindsey Fitzharris The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine Winner [22][23][24][25][7]
David Baron American Eclipse: A Nation’s Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World Shortlist [26]
David Montgomery Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life Shortlist [26]
Ron Powers No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America Shortlist [26]
Robert Sapolsky Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst Shortlist [26]
2019 Ben Goldfarb Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter Winner [27][7]
Vince Beiser The World in a Grain Shortlist [28]
Andrea Buchanan The Beginning of Everything Shortlist [28]
Lauren Slater Blue Dreams: The Science and the Story of the Drugs that Changed Our Minds Shortlist [28]
Carl Zimmer She Has Her Mother’s Laugh Shortlist [28]
2020 Frans de Waal Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves Winner [29][7]
Patricia S. Churchland Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition Shortlist [30][31]
Elizabeth Hennessy On the Backs of Tortoises: Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden Shortlist [30]
Dahr Jamail The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption Shortlist [30]
Nathaniel Rich Losing Earth: A Recent History Shortlist [30]
2021 Jonathan C. Slaght Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl Winner [7][32]
Jennifer Ackerman The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think Shortlist [33][34]
Rebecca Giggs Fathoms: The World in the Whale Shortlist [33][34]
Emily Levesque The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers Shortlist [33][34]
Sonia Shah The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move Shortlist [33][34]
2022 Catherine Raven Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship Winner [35][36][7]
Lauren Aguirre The Memory Thief: And the Secrets Behind What We Remember — A Medical Mystery Shortlist [7][37][36]
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred Shortlist [7][37][36]
Lisa Wells Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World Shortlist [7][37][36]
Carl Zimmer Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive Shortlist [7][37][36]
2023 Florence Williams Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey Winner [38]
Rachel E. Gross Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage Shortlist [39]
David George Haskell Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction Shortlist [39]
Manil Suri The Big Bang of Numbers: How to Build the Universe Using Only Math Shortlist [39]
2024 Rosanna Xia California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline Winner [40]
Brad Fox The Bathysphere Book: Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths Shortlist [40]
Ben Goldfarb Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet Shortlist [40]
Leah Hazard Womb: The Inside Story of How It All Began Shortlist [40]
Charles Barber In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the US Army Shortlist [40]

References

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