David B. Williams w/ Claudia Castro Luna, WILD IN SEATTLE

About the Book

David B. Williams’ lively essays, woven with Elizabeth Person’s engaging illustrations, in will fire up the curiosity of both residents and visitors alike, inspiring all to take a fresh look at the Emerald City.

• More than 40 essays dive into the geology, animals, plants, and architecture that shape Seattle
• Fully illustrated by celebrated local artist Elizabeth Person
• Fun and fascinating sidebars explore regional vocabulary, scientific terms, and Indigenous language phrases

For award-winning natural history writer David B. Williams, to be connected to a place you need to pause and look deeply at it. Wild in Seattle is Williams’ delightful journey of discovery in this city where not only is nature all around, it’s also written in the stones of the urban landscape. Explore the geologic history of glaciers, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes as well as the ways humans shape the Seattle topography. From backyards to downtown, watch for coyotes, crows, seals, otters, owls, and so much more wildlife who also call the region home. Look up at the buildings to find terra cotta eagles, stone that traveled over millions of years from Asia to the San Juan Islands, and clues to the horses who used to power the city’s transportation network. Wrap your arms around a giant Douglas-fir, appreciate the unsung yet remarkable skunk cabbage, stop and listen to the spring chorus of frogs.

About the Author

David B. Williams is an historian, naturalist, and tour guide whose award-winning books include Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound and Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography. He publishes a free weekly Substack newsletter, Street Smart Naturalist.

About the Illustrator

Elizabeth Person is known for her unique map illustrations, informational art, and Northwest themes. She works primarily in ink and watercolor from her studio in Everett, WA where she also manages an online store and commissions.

About the Interlocutor

Claudia Castro Luna has been an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate fellow, the Washington State Poet Laureate, and Seattle’s inaugural Civic Poet. She is the author of One River, A Thousand Voices; the Pushcart nominated Killing Marías, shortlisted for the Washington State 2018 Book Award in poetry; and the chapbook This City. Her most recent nonfiction can be found in the anthology There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis. Born in El Salvador, she came to the United States in 1981. Living in English and Spanish, Claudia writes and teaches in Seattle on unceded Duwamish lands where she gardens and keeps chickens with her husband and their three children.

Pre-order your copy of Wild in Seattle here.

Host or Publisher Elliott Bay Book Company