Best American Science and Nature Writing

Best American Science and Nature Writing
Name	Best American Science and Nature Writing
Caption	Cover of a volume in the series
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Best American Series
Genre	Science writing, nature writing, essays, reporting
Publisher	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
First	2000

Best American Science and Nature Writing

Best American Science and Nature Writing is an annual anthology that collects notable nonfiction about natural history, medicine, ecology, technology, and biological research. The series appears alongside related volumes such as The Best American Essays and The Best American Short Stories, and it brings together work originally published in magazines, newspapers, and journals across North America.

Overview

The series anthologizes pieces from publications like The New Yorker, National Geographic, Scientific American, The Atlantic, and New York Times Magazine, aiming to represent narrative nonfiction by journalists and essayists such as Michael Pollan, Atul Gawande, Elizabeth Kolbert, Richard Preston, and Jared Diamond. Each volume features a guest editor from fields connected to science and nature—often journalists or scientists affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Stanford University—and a series editor who oversees continuity across years. The series highlights writing that engages topics linked to events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Chernobyl disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic, and debates surrounding the Endangered Species Act.

Series History

Initiated by Houghton Mifflin in 2000 as part of The Best American Series created in the 1910s by figures associated with The Atlantic Monthly, the science and nature volumes evolved through editorial stewardship tied to publishing houses including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and partnerships with editors who have worked at outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune. Over time, guest editors such as Oliver Sacks, E.O. Wilson, Gillian Tett, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Elizabeth Kolbert navigated selection amid developments like the rise of digital outlets including Slate, Vox, ProPublica, and The Guardian US. The anthology’s history intersects with literary trends exemplified by awards from organizations such as the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and recognition from the Science Writing Awards.

Editorial Selection and Contributors

Selection begins with a series editor compiling candidates published in venues including Nature, Science (journal), The New Republic, Harper's Magazine, The Walrus, Granta, and Foreign Affairs. Guest editors—often drawn from academics at Yale University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, or journalists from Time (magazine), Newsweek, Mother Jones, and The Economist—choose final inclusions. Contributors to volumes represent a mix of staff writers and freelancers affiliated with institutions such as National Public Radio, BBC, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Smithsonian Institution, and think tanks like Brookings Institution and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The editorial process weighs investigative pieces about incidents like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster or reporting on policies such as the Endangered Species Act alongside essays by science communicators connected to organizations like Union of Concerned Scientists.

Notable Volumes and Essays

Noteworthy volumes feature essays by writers associated with titles and events such as The Sixth Extinction author Elizabeth Kolbert, The Emperor of All Maladies author Siddhartha Mukherjee, and longform reporting on episodes like the Anthrax attacks or profiles of figures such as Jane Goodall, E.O. Wilson, Craig Venter, Jennifer Doudna, and James Watson. Individual acclaimed essays originally appeared in outlets like The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and Wired (magazine), covering topics from climate events tied to the Paris Agreement to biomedical debates linked to the Human Genome Project and controversies involving CRISPR–Cas9 research.

Reception and Impact

Critics and scholars at universities including Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, King's College London, and University of Toronto have discussed the series' role in public engagement with science, citing its influence on curricula in programs at MIT Media Lab and writing workshops at Iowa Writers' Workshop. Reviewers in outlets such as The New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Guardian, and The Washington Post have praised volumes for narrative clarity while debating selections in light of reporting standards associated with groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists and editorial norms endorsed by the American Medical Association. The anthology has helped launch profiles and investigations that influenced policy discussions in bodies such as the United States Congress and advisory panels to agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institutes of Health.

Awards and Recognition

Volumes and constituent essays have been cited in honors including the Pulitzer Prize nominations, the National Magazine Awards, the John Burroughs Medal, the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards, and recognitions from organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society. Individual contributors have received fellowships from MacArthur Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and institutions like Knight Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, reflecting the series' role in elevating science communicators whose reporting intersects with investigations honored by Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Publication and Distribution

Published annually in paperback and e-book formats by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and distributed through retailers including Barnes & Noble, Amazon (company), independent bookstores affiliated with the American Booksellers Association, and university presses, the series is also available in library collections cataloged by systems like the Library of Congress and interlibrary networks connecting research libraries at Harvard Library, Yale University Library, British Library, and the New York Public Library. Special editions and classroom adopters cite use in syllabi at institutions such as University of California, Los Angeles, University of Michigan, and University of Washington.

Category:Essay anthologies Category:Science writing