I am an author of books on wildlife and science for adults and kids; I like to tell a story that hasn't been told using my own style of narrative nonfiction. I am also a researcher and lecturer working in many countries. I like exploring new frontiers, trying new things...I have been very fortunate to work with various dolphin and whale species in many countries, deep sea creatures, ocean conservation, as well as ants in the tropical rain forest.
My latest books are STRANGE SEA CREATURES (112 pages, 90 photos, 2020), an illustrated tour through the layers of the sea down to the bottom, and ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WHALES, DOLPHINS & PORPOISES (300 pages; 400+ photos & illustrations, 2017), filled with stories of what it's like to spend months in the field studying whales and dolphins.
My other 2 books in the "creatures" family are CREATURES OF THE DEEP (2nd edition, 2x orig length, 135 all new photos) (Dec. 2014) and WEIRD SEA CREATURES (March 2013) for age 12 to adult featuring state-of-the-art photographs of the latest amazing deep sea animals, many of them only discovered in the past couple years and some still un-named. Both are still in print.
My first book, ORCA: THE WHALE CALLED KILLER, now in an updated, expanded edition (2019), tells the story of seven summers I spent living among three big "families" or pods of killer whales (orcas) off northern Vancouver Island, Canada.
In SEASONS OF THE WHALE, I follow several known humpback, right and blue whales through a momentous year in their lives -- a true story of the year that the North Atlantic Ocean began to "talk back" to those who cared about it as well as those who didn't.
In THE EARTH DWELLERS, I get down to a few centimeters off the ground and trace several years in the lives of a colony of leafcutter ants and the scientists who study them in Costa Rica. In alternative chapters, I weave the story of the ants and the story of the scientists -- two well known entomologists (insect scientists), EO Wilson from Harvard and Bill Brown from Cornell who trade arguments, jokes, banter and science in their pursuit of the big find.
I loved researching and writing CREATURES OF THE DEEP, with its literary, historical, mythical and actual journeys to the bottom of the sea as well as along the world's longest mountain range (underwater) and starting from the tiniest organisms up the long food chain to the top predators. It's a story of a dark, high pressure, unexplored world and bizarre, little known creatures that communicate by touch, flashing lights and who knows what else. This book was awarded Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by the American Society for Journalists & Authors, New York.
These books are for adults but variously enjoyed by young adults and older kids. I have also written five other books just for kids including the 2013 award-winning (School Library Association) WEIRD SEA CREATURES, with state of the art photos of deep sea creatures.
As a working scientist and conservationist, I also write scientific papers, reports and books such as Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. A world handbook for cetacean habitat conservation and planning (Taylor & Francis, London, 477pp, 2nd edition, 2011). I am Research Fellow with WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission - Cetacean Specialist Group as well the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. I co-chair the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. I also help direct the Far East Russia Orca Project, a long-term project with Russian scientists to understand the killer whales in the vast Russian waters.
I enjoy giving talks and illustrated presentations. In the past few years, I have been invited to speak in the UK, France, Portugal, Canada, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, the US, Mexico, Panama, Monaco, Australia, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. I have especially enjoyed working in Japan giving simulated whale watch presentations at the 2005 World Expo (theme: nature's wonders) and at the World Whale Watching Conference and the Symposium: New Tales about Whales in Science, Society & Art, at the UN University, Tokyo, Dec 2010. My other talks are about "my life with orcas", "protecting the special places where whales and dolphins live", and the future of marine conservation, "creatures of the deep", and the best dolphin and whale watching around the world. I also give talks on writing popular science with a story: narrative nonfiction, and on preparing book proposals that sell. At recent public lectures in Adelaide, Australia, and in Seattle, Washington, I talked about several subjects linked by my search for stories: "Of Orcas, Ants and Creatures of the Deep".
Please see my web sites erichhoyt.com, marinemammalhabitat.org and erichhoytbooks.com.
