Articles by Mary Woodbury

Italy Part I: Davide Sapienza, Elena Maffioletti, Tiziano Fratus

Click here to return to the series In August, I kick off two parts of a feature that heads to Italy to talk with eco-authors there. Thanks to Antonia Santopietro for her collaboration on these features. Together we planned this article, which became big enough to break into two parts […]

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Impacts of Environmental Fiction – Survey Results

Today, this site celebrates its 7th anniversary! I figured I’d give back to readers something I’ve been working on. But if not for you, these survey results wouldn’t be possible, so thank you! Last autumn I had a chance to speak at Ecocity Vancouver about healthy socio-cultural subjects regarding climate […]

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The New Wilderness, Diane Cook

Could this be the great climate change novel of our time? Buzz is building fast for the epic debut novel of Diane Cook, which, despite not being published yet, is already longlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize. –EW A debut novel that explores a mother-daughter relationship in a world ravaged […]

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Backyard Wildlife – The Meadow

Back to Series It’s already August, almost fall here, but you wouldn’t know it. Nova Scotia has had hotter than normal weather this summer and a high humidex, making it rather uncomfortable with no air-conditioning. But so far we’re okay, staying hydrated. I guess we were lucky to have the […]

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Interview with Antonia Santopietro, Eco-lit Blogger

I’m so happy to talk with Antonia Santopietro, who runs ZEST Letteratura Sostenibile. We’ve collaborated on a few projects, this one–a two-part feature of Italian authors, beginning on August 11th–is the biggest so far. Together we planned this article, which became large enough to break into two parts for the […]

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Summerwater, Sarah Moss

…are brief chapters comprising lyrical and often ominous reports of the wildlife surrounding the human-made structures: the natural world is quietly suffering due to excessive changes in weather. –Prospect Magazine, UK On the longest day of the summer, twelve people sit cooped up with their families in a faded Scottish […]

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Forbidden Fruit, Stanley Gazemba

The idea for Forbidden Fruit came to me in the expansive garden of an old colonial bungalow in Nairobi’s Lavington Estate, where I was then working as a gardener. Although the book was first published in Kenya in 2002 as The Stone Hills of Maragoli, it reverted to its working […]

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Heart Wood, Shirley DicKard

Complete title: Heart Wood — Four Women, for the Earth, for the Future Heart Wood is a compelling family saga set in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada. Its characters shift from one generation to the next, as do the struggles they face in saving their homestead from the ravages […]

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Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

It’s difficult to highlight the eco-horror in this one without spoiling the twist, but suffice it to say, the Doyles have a hefty supernatural secret. In Mexican Gothic, the horror isn’t in nature turning against people but is in the way that extraction of natural resources helps entrench colonial powers […]

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The Disaster Tourist, Yun Ko-eun

In this entertaining eco-thriller, the heroine curates holiday packages in disaster zones. –The Guardian An eco-thriller with a fierce feminist sensibility, The Disaster Tourist engages with the global dialog around climate activism, dark tourism, and the #MeToo movement…In The Disaster Tourist, Korean author Yun Ko-eun grapples with the consequences of […]

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The Octopus and I, Erin Hortle

A stunning debut novel set on the Tasmanian coast that lays bare the wild, beating heart at the intersection of human and animal, love and loss, and fear and hope. Goodreads Reviews Back to Goodreads

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The Seed Thief, Jacqui L’Ange

Jacqui L’Ange’s debut novel, The Seed Thief, will be made into a film. According to The Reading List, rights to the novel have been bought by indie producer Rodrigo Chiaro for an “international co-production, with links to Brazil, Panama, Europe, Singapore, as well as South Africa.” –Brittle Paper Sometimes the thing you […]

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Backyard Wildlife – Moody Skies

Back to Series Note that I decided to rename this series “Backyard Wildlife” due to my original plans of getting out more into the province being squelched because of the coronavirus. Nova Scotia is really careful about things opening, more so than the United States. Nova Scotia has had, as […]

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Bangkok Wakes to Rain, Pitchaya Sudbanthad

Click here to return to the series About the Book This July, we are fortunate to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to explore Pitchaya Sudbanthad’s Bangkok Wakes to Rain, published by Riverhead Books (US, 2020) and Sceptre (UK, 2019); in 2019 it was selected as a notable book of the year […]

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Statement of Solidarity

Introductory Resources: Black Lives Matters website Nnedi Okorafor’s article on Afro- vs. Africanfuturism #publishingpaidme hashtag More on #publishingpaidme Lovis Geier’s introduction into Black authors and trends in the field of eco-fiction Artists & Climate Change’s new series on Black Artists and Storytellers on the Climate Crisis My article at Medium […]

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