What Comes Naturally: The Science and Soul of Nature Writing

The natural world is full of mysteries, ones that writers and artists are uniquely equipped to unlock.  In this panel sponsored by Heyday Books, four authors meet at a literary crossroads between hard science, lyrical prose, and visual sumptuousness. Naturalist, writer and illustrator Obi Kaufmann turns his scientific acumen and artist’s palette on California’s most contested natural resource, water; while Josie Iselin wades into the deep end with an in-depth look at the magic of seaweed. John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren take us into the revelatory practice of nature journaling.

Together, they’ll get into the weeds with a conversation that raises, and answers, the thorniest questions. How do these multifaceted artists learn the ecological nitty gritty of their subjects? How does science inspire not only the research that makes these books so fascinating, but also the artwork that makes them beautiful to behold? How does nature writing, as a literary genre, inform and deepen the impact of scientific research?