Vanished

Episodes in the History of Extinction

I’ve been quiet lately as I’ve been working on various projects, most importantly my second book on the history of extinction. Over the summer, I worked on my book proposal and am pleased to announce that I now have a book deal.

Vanished: Episodes in the History of Extinction will be published by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Press, in the UK and Commonwealth. I am absolutely delighted to be working with such an established and prestigious press. I’ve grown up reading Puffin books and quickly moved on to Penguin’s adult fiction and non-fiction. I still can’t quite believe that my own words will eventually be branded with that iconic orange spine and black and white bird. Book deal aside, I’m also excited because the project has been reshaped in exciting ways over the last year.

Originally, I became interested in histories of extinction in relationship to humans, particularly indigenous peoples within settler colonies. Throughout the nineteenth century, many indigenous peoples, such as First Nations in the Americas, Aboriginal peoples in Australia and the San in South Africa, were believed to be on the verge of extinction in the face of settler colonial encroachment. As I wrote my proposal, I decided that I wanted to write an even broader history.

Vanished will now incorporate episodes of human endangerment alongside broader debates about extinction in relationship to fossils, animals, plants and biodiversity and de-extinction. I will blog about the book as I write more but, for now, I’m thrilled to be able to share the news and to begin writing.

October 2017