BookShelf

For the latest installment of Between the Lines, an author Q& A, SEJournal book editor Tom Henry digressed from the writer’s point of view and sought out advice from a publishing company that specializes in energy and environment books. Founded in 1984, Island Press is a nonprofit that has published books by E.O. Wilson, Paul Ehrlich, Sylvia Earle and many other well-known writers. David Miller, Island Press senior vice president and publisher, gave us his thoughts.

Rarely does a writer get so deeply into the heart of his or her subject while also avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality. So began the judges’ comments for “Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island,” winner of SEJ’s 2015 Rachel Carson Environment Book Award. The book’s author, Will Harlan, spent 19 years developing a bold, unflinching portrayal of Cumberland Island, Ga.’s most ardent defender, the brilliant-yet-eccentric Carol Ruckdeschel. For the latest edition of SEJournal’s Between the Lines author Q & A, Harlan spoke with our book editor, Tom Henry.