Working Titles
Working Title 2.4: The Keepers of the Ghost Bird
THE KEEPERS OF THE GHOST BIRD chronicles the astonishing rediscovery of the Bermuda petrel, believed to have been extinct since 1625. It is the story of a tenacious bird and the naturalists who now fight to save it, amid the degradation of habitat in Bermuda. Dean’s tale of unlikely resurrection blends ecological and human history to weave a vivid and poetic tale of optimism and courage, a heartfelt portrait of human ingenuity and biological survival. Dean's extraordinary essay was ecently named the winner of the 2018 John Burroughs Association Nature Essay Award. Read an excerpt here and buy at Kobo, Amazon or Weightless Books.
"The Keepers of the Ghost Bird is nature writing at its finest—a fluid blend of natural and human history, vivid images of the cahows’ rugged home, a heartfelt plea for bird conservation, and the story of a personal quest and discovery." --John R. Nelson, Introduction to The Keepers of the Ghost Bird
Jenn Dean holds an MFA in Literature and Nonfiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars. A portion of her book-in-progress, House of My Sleepless Nights, was published in Salamander, and her interview with the writer Jane Brox appeared in The Writer’s Chronicle. Awarded a Millay Colony residency, she’s been a featured artist in SoundFalls, an evening of music and stories, in Carnation, WA, and was a finalist for the Lamar York Non-Fiction prize. Her essay, "After Pilgrim," was published by Platypus Press. "The Keepers of the Ghost Bird" was a 2016 finalist in the New Millennium Writings Literary Awards. Visit her website here.
John R. Nelson has contributed the essays "Parting Words" (on writing eulogies) and "Birds and War" to the Massachusetts Review. His narrative "A Morning on the Rio Negro" was the feature article in the June 2017 issue of Birdwatching, and his essay "Dislocation" is included in the Summer 2017 online issue of The Compassion Anthology. He has been awarded a 2018 Pushcart Prize for "Funny Bird Sex," the lead essay in the Winter 2016 issue of The Antioch Review. John is also the author of Cultivating Judgment (New Forums Press), on the teaching of critical thinking across the curriculum.
