The Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute has announced the winning 2023 books for the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award (SONWA).
Restoring Eden by Elizabeth D. Hilborn has been selected for the top prize in nature writing.
“Reminiscent of Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring, and written with elegance and sensitivity,” observed Institute director Alan Brew, “Restoring Eden chronicles Hilborn’s response to the discovery that insects and amphibians have disappeared from her homeplace in North Carolina after a spring flood.”
In what reader Theron O’Connor describes as “a day-by-day investigation told simply, passionately, and compellingly,” Hilborn documents what she observes and persistently seeks answers to questions that no one seems able, or willing, to answer. In time, she pieces together an explanation that has implications we must all be attentive to.
The top prize in the young adult category was awarded to Finding Calm in Nature: A Guide for Mindful Kids, written by Jennifer Grant and illustrated by Erin Brown.
“A delightful and inspiring book,” reader Demaris Brinton notes, Finding Calm in Nature “draws creative and essential connections between humanness and nature, and illustrates in a very unique way the well-being afforded by that intimate relationship.”
In the children’s category, The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement secured the top prize.
Written by Barry Wittenstein and illustrated by Jessie Hartland, The Day the River Caught Fire tells the story of how a river of sludge became a river of beauty, and, as reader Jan Penn observes, it does so in a manner that helps children “develop a sense of connection with the global environmental movement.”
In addition to the winning books, the reading committees also recognized books in the following categories:
- Honorable Mention (Adult)
- The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas by Hanne Strager.
- Notable (Adult)
- A Wild Path by Douglas Wood
- Honorable Mention (Children)
- A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn by Patricia Newman with illustrations by Natasha Donovan
- Armando’s Island by Marsha Diane Arnold with illustrations by Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Since 1991, the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award has honored the literary legacy of Sigurd Olson by recognizing and encouraging contemporary writers who seek to carry on his tradition of nature writing.
Born April 4, 1899, Olson is recognized as one of the most influential conservationists of the twentieth century, and his books have inspired an appreciation for nature among many generations of readers.