World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

David G. Haskell

デイヴィッド・ジョージ・ハスケル

David George Haskell

Profile

Gender
Male
Nationality
British, American
Languages
English
Residence History
Paris, France (educated at École Jeannine Manuel and British School of Paris) → Oxford, United Kingdom → Sewanee (University of the South), Tennessee, USA → Boulder, Colorado, USA → Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Career

Occupations
biologist, writer
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Sewanee: The University of the South, Emory University, University of Colorado Boulder, Linnean Society of London, American Council of Learned Societies, American Ornithological Society
Memberships
Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, American Council of Learned Societies, American Ornithological Society
Influenced By
E. O. Wilson

Education

École Jeannine Manuel
Country: France
Primary and secondary education in Paris
University of Oxford
BA (Zoology) / Zoology
Degree: BA
Country: United Kingdom
Cornell University
PhD (Evolutionary Biology) / Evolutionary Biology
Degree: PhD
Country: United States

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (finalist)
2013
Work: The Forest Unseen
Category: 一般ノンフィクション
Organization: Pulitzer Prize
Result: ファイナリスト
Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (finalist)
2023
Work: Sounds Wild and Broken
Category: 一般ノンフィクション
Organization: Pulitzer Prize
Result: ファイナリスト
John Burroughs Medal
2018
Work: The Songs of Trees
Category: 自然史・随筆
Organization: John Burroughs Association
Result: 受賞
National Outdoor Book Award (Natural History Literature)
2012
Work: The Forest Unseen
Category: 自然史文学
Organization: National Outdoor Book Award
Result: 受賞
National Academies Communication Award (Best Book)
2013
Work: The Forest Unseen
Category: コミュニケーション賞
Organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Result: 受賞
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
2014
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature
2024
Category: 文学
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Acoustical Society of America Science Communication Award (Long Form Print)
2023
Work: Sounds Wild and Broken
Category: サイエンスコミュニケーション（長文）
Organization: Acoustical Society of America
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature

2012 Natural history / Essay

The author watches a one-square-meter plot in a forest for a year, using close observation to explore ecology, evolution, and seasonal change in poetic and scientific prose.

observationecologyseasonalityevolution
Translations
  • Japanese translation: The Forest Unseen (translator: Miki Naoko)
  • Chinese (simplified) translation: 看不见的森林
  • Italian translation: La foresta nascosta

The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors

2017 Natural history / Nonfiction

Through particular trees around the world, the book weaves scientific knowledge and stories about trees' interconnections with ecosystems and human cultures.

treesconnectivityculture and nature
Translations
  • German translation: Der Gesang der Bäume
  • Korean translation: 나무의 노래 (translator: Seungyoung Noh)
  • Japanese translation available

Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree

2021 Nature observation / Essay

Essays and observations that rediscover trees and forests through the sense of smell.

smelltreessenses and nature
Translations
  • Korean translation available (나무 내음을 맡는 열세 가지 방법)
  • Chinese translations (simplified/traditional) available

Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction

2022 Soundscape / Natural history

Explores the sonic worlds of organisms, the loss of sensory diversity, and the need for conservation through soundscapes.

soundsensory extinctionecology
Translations
  • Chinese (simplified) translation available
  • Japanese translation available (Tsukiji Shokan)
  • Italian translation available

Bibliography

  • The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature
  • The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors
  • Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree
  • Sounds Wild and Broken

Adaptations

  • When the Earth Started to Sing (audio story, Emergence Magazine)
  • The Atomic Tree (VR experience, co-writer)

Translations of Works

  • The Forest Unseen translated into Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Korean, and more
  • The Songs of Trees translated into German, French, Korean, Japanese, and more
  • Sounds Wild and Broken translated into Chinese, Korean, Italian, Japanese, etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
poetic, lyrical essays blended with rigorous scientific explanationnarratives based on precise field observation
Recurring Motifs
trees and forestssenses (especially smell and hearing)ecosystem understanding from small details

Legacy

Haskell is regarded as a writer and scientist who bridges poetic observation and scientific insight, opening new avenues in contemporary nature writing. He has won multiple international awards and his works have been widely translated.

Academic Societies

  • Linnean Society of London
  • American Council of Learned Societies
  • American Ornithological Society

Quotes

  • "...a new genre of nature writing, located between science and poetry."
    Source: E. O. Wilson's praise for The Forest Unseen (2013)

Trivia

  • Both The Forest Unseen and Sounds Wild and Broken were Pulitzer Prize finalists.
  • He has pledged to donate at least half of his author proceeds to forest conservation and related projects.
  • Donated all proceeds from the sale of the Eastern Forest Playing Cards to education and conservation groups.