Dear Creature Conserve Community,

I am excited to announce the publication of Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation, co-edited by Christopher Kondrich, Susan Tacent, and myself, published by the University of Minnesota Press.

The book is a collection of new works by 39 prominent writers paired with excerpts from recent scientific articles organized around what all animals need to survive: air, food, water, shelter, room to move, and each other.

Creature Needs emerged from the work of Creature Conserve. In many ways, it’s an example of our mission in action. Each of the contributors is combining art with science to create a new pathway for wildlife conservation.

Christopher, Susan, and I have been collaborators ever since we taught our first workshop for Creature Conserve. In our introductions to the book, we explain the idea behind it and why it’s organized around the six basic needs. We also collaborated with Franco Zacha on the section illustrations.

From the University of Minnesota Press:

CREATURE NEEDS is a polyvocal call to arms about animal extinction that harnesses the power of literature and scientific research to stir our hearts toward action and change.

To find out more, here is a link to the book trailer, co-created by Deanne Fernandes and Lizzie Brown.

Check out the poster below and our website for a list of book events. https://creatureconserve.com/creature-needs.

Happy reading!
Dr Lucy

- Lucy Spelman, Founder and Executive Director