Approaching Literary Science Writing
I am under a science-related department from a local university and I never touched any literary science writing besides Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. In fact, the book was recommended by a local book club, none of my classmates or professors did. Rather recommending literary science books, people around me recommend boring textbooks. Not even a glimpse of literary writing can be seen from those expensive thick-bound books, except old editions.
Throw those textbooks (not literally).
One day, I did few clicks online and saw that there are literary science awards garnered for authors and their works. I am happy that I saw my only beloved science book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the 2004 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. I did more clicks and found out that this award was started since 1988. So old that I was shocked that I never heard of it since the day I first remembered my oldest memory (the day I first sucked my mom’s breast, talking Murakami).
"The Royal Society Winton Prize celebrates outstanding popular science books from around the world. This prestigious prize is open to authors of science books written for a non-specialist audience."
This year, like National Book Award, announced their first ever longlisted science books qualified for the award. (I think longlist is currently trending.) The longlist composed of promising works from different researchers, scientists and academe around the world written for general readers. I am happy that the prize just announced their shortlist last September 25, 2013.
So far, I’m hoping that Caspar Henderson’s The Book of Barely Imagined Beings will win this year’s Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. I’m sure those cute little critters will win the judges’ hearts.
Don’t forget this year’s winner of PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, Subliminal by Leonard Mlodinow, and another literary science writing award to watch out. I’m pretty sure that I will spend more money this time. Those are loads of great books and I’m kicking for more science stuff.
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