The Soul of an Octopus has just been published in paperback, and it’s already in its second printing.
Category Archives: News
Birthday cards from Poland
Sy’s publishers in Poland — Dobra, Swinka, Dobra (The Good, Good Pig) — have sent her a dozen birthday cards, including these two, above and below.
A meeting of the minds. The folks at Brainpickings have fallen for Sy’s “breathtaking inquiry” into the consciousness of octopuses. They advise: “do treat yourself to Sy Montgomery’s bewitching The Soul of an Octopus.”
Houghton Mifflin has just released this video, filmed at the New England Aquarium, about Sy’s forthcoming book, The Great White Shark Scientist to be published on June 7.
The Soul of an Octopus is now in its 11th printing.
Diesel, a California bookstore with four locations, has published an appreciation of The Soul of An Octopus in its online newsletter for February:
“Empathy for domesticated animals is natural to us, but empathy toward many other creatures can take effort. Mammals usually aren’t challenging, nor birds. Insects and reptiles are harder, but familiarity can make it easier. How about invertebrates of all kinds, though? And that most mysterious of invertebrates — the cephalopods, including the octopus?
“The Soul of an Octopus takes us into the stunningly alien world of octopus consciousness. From the mesmerizing chameleonic shapeshifting of their skin color, textures and shape changes, to their eight-armed dexterous coordination, to their playful intelligence, Montgomery introduces us to a life form that expands our imagination and strains our empathy into a bigger orbit. As she writes, quoting one of the biologists she works with: ‘Just about every animal,’ Scott says, ‘– not just mammals and birds– can learn, recognize individuals, and respond to empathy.’” And on working with these animals: ‘You learn to project empathy.’”
“It is a quantum leap in our sense of ourselves and of the place of consciousness in our planet’s fellow beings. As such, it is a bold step toward a greater understanding of the risks and values in the ecological relationships we maintain with the whole wide world.” — John E.
O is for Octopus. Helen MacDonald, author of the acclaimed H is for Hawk, was asked by The New York Times Book Review: “Who are your favorite writers on nature?”
MacDonald’s answer: “Too many to list! Off the top of my head, and restricting myself to modern writers, Barry Lopez, R. F. Langley, Tim Dee, Kathleen Jamie, Sy Montgomery, Julia Blackburn, Luke Jennings, and so many more.”
Big Read. Sy’s neighbors in Hancock, Peterborough, and Jaffrey are getting set for this year’s “Big Read,” when the communities will take on one book. This year readers will be wrapping their arms around The Soul of an Octopus. The libraries will buy books with a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. On Earth Day, April 22, Sy will give a talk at the Peterborough Town House, 7 p.m.
A pig, a bear and a fruit fly walk into a bar…
A pig, a bear and a fruit fly walk into a bar&#hellip;what happens next? Listen to Sy’s interview on WGBH with hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan at the 1:45 mark.
The American Library Association has chosen The Soul of an Octopus as one of its 25 Notable Books for 2016.
The Octopus Scientists has won the 2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F (Science Book & Film) prize for excellence in science books. For the last 10 years, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, backed by Subaru, has honored outstanding science writing. The Octopus Scientists is their pick for the middle grades.
A Choice Honor. The Octopus Scientists is a CBCC Choices for 2016. CCBC Choices is the annual best-of-the-year list of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Choices considered 3400 books. They selected only 259 books or about 8% for the Choices list.
The Nerdy Book Club is led by the kind of people Sy loves to meet: dedicated teachers and readers. It’s run by four teachers in Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. After visiting their website, you’ll want to bookmark it to see what they love to read. Each year they award “The Nerdies” to the best books and for 2015 they have chosen The Octopus Scientists.
A big thank you to the students of the Cambridge Friends School for their lovely notes after Sy’s visit. The covers of a few of these notes are above and below.
The Soul of an Octopus is now in its tenth printing.
That pig is still on the loose!
That pig is still on the loose! Christopher Hogwood is spreading holiday cheer in Poland. Monika Szymon, owner of a gingerbread bakery, took time out at a hectic time to write to Sy: “Now we are busy with Christmas orders and have little time for reading. But your history of Christopher was with us during this busy time: I’ve been reading aloud from it. We fall in love with that energetic, hedonistic person. Probably that’s why Chris appeared spontaneously in our gingerbread works: as a piece of dough left after cutting out stars and trees. Thank you for your books and works!”
The Octopus Scientists has been named to Booklist’s Editors’ Choice 2015 list.
The Soul of an Octopus is on The Daily Beast’s list of The Best Nonfiction of 2015: “Montgomery’s illuminating new book [is] funny, sad, and endlessly fascinating.”
“For those who are ready to welcome our octopus overlords,” Jillian Capewell, Entertainment News Editor for The Huffington Post recommends Sy’s octopus book as one of the “20 Notable Non-Fiction Books You Might’ve Missed This Year.”
The Nonfiction Detectives – “two intrepid librarians” who “review the best nonfiction books for children” – have chosen The Octopus Scientists as one of the best of the year. “Montgomery builds excitement, suspense, and a sense of adventure through the first person narrative, dialogue and vivid descriptions of what it’s like to spend days diving and searching for the elusive octopus…The Octopus Scientists is a recommended purchase for school and public library. It would make an excellent mentor text for a writing class working on first person narratives, and it would be an exciting read aloud in a middle school science class.”
Sy shared octopus images and stories with the students and staff at Cambridge Friends School near Boston on December 9. How does an octopus squirt ink? Where is an octopus’ mouth? How can you tell a male octopus from a female octopus? They had wonderful questions!
The Soul of an Octopus is now in its 9th printing
Shelf Awareness has picked a certain book about octopus as one of the best of the year, as has Deborah Blum on the National Public Radio show Science Friday.
The Soul of an Octopus is now in its 9th printing.
Scenes from Sy’s amazing week in New York at the National Book Awards. Her editor Leslie Meredith sitting next to her at the awards ceremony and dinner.
The cake Atria/Simon & Schuster created to celebrate the book. And here’s a link to Sy’s reading – four minutes for each finalist.
The best of the year. The Soul of an Octopus has a tentacle or two on many year-end lists of the best books:
- Library Journal picks it as the Best Sci-Tech book of 2015.
- Amazon says it’s one of the two best science books, and also “Sports/Outdoors” books. (Octo sports? O Amazon thy ways are mysterious, but thank you.)
- And both The Soul of an Octopus and The Octopus Scientists (grades 4 to 8) are finalists for the book awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Vote: The Soul of an Octopus is a semifinalist for a Good Reads Choice Award. Readers choose the winners, so please vote.
The National Science Teachers’ Association has chosen The Octopus Scientist as an Outstanding Science Trade Book for K-12.
“I have always felt deeply connected to different animals because, as a child, I didn’t feel there was a separation to start with. Most of us as children don’t feel that separation. Most of us as children, our dreams are filled with animals, and we can still feel the connection to our own past as hunter-gatherers who had to pay attention to the natural world and feel part of it. So that’s who we are, and to embrace the rest of animate creation is our own destiny as humans. And it is extremely dangerous for us to lose that.”
That’s part of the wonderful conversation Sy had with the writer Laura C. Rohrer who interviewed Sy for the National Book Foundation.
The Soul of an Octopus is a finalist for the 2015 National Book Awards
The Soul of an Octopus is a finalist for the 2015 National Book Awards. The other four nonfiction books that made the cut from the “Longlist” are: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me; Sally Mann, Hold Still; Carla Power, If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran; and Tracy K. Smith, Ordinary Light.
The winner will be announced November 18.
AT YOUR NEWS KIOSK NOW – IF YOU ARE IN GERMANY, DAS MAGAZIN. ON THE COVER:
“MAN, OCTOPUS – THERE IS NONE SO CLOSE TO US” – OR SO SAYS GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
Sixth and Seventh Printings. Simon & Schuster has ordered two more printings of The Soul of an Octopus.
Last week Sy had the great pleasure of returning to Utah to visit a great group who are dedicated to putting children together with books that they’ll love. Sy spoke at the annual conference of the Utah Chapter of the International Reading Association. She was introduced by Lauren Aimonette Liang. Professor Liang teaches in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah and she has the kind of home in which reading flourishes. Professor Liang’s introduction:
In my life, Sy Montgomery is a superstar.
Sy has written over 20 books for children and adults. Her books have won several awards and her newest title, The Soul of an Octopus, is on the nonfiction long list for the National Book Award. Her children’s books have introduced thousands of children around the world — including my own— animals they may never have heard of otherwise, and helped them to love and care for these often endangered animals.
In my home it started with the kakapo. In first grade my son was asked to read a nonfiction book on an animal and write a report. Looking through the bookshelves in my office, he found and fell in love with Sy’s Kakapo Rescue book. This was the start of an avid interest in our house not just in the kakapo but in tree kangaroos, pink dolphins and more animals highlighted in Sy’s books. When my son’s class pet “Fang” suddenly became our family pet this past summer, we were prepared for the new “Fang Liang “ thanks to Sy’s book The Tarantula Scientist. Her writing is captivating, as she combines facts about her animal subjects with stories of her research and the adventures of the scientists she joins.
In my undergraduate and graduate children’s literature classes, many students read Sy’s works as an example of outstanding children’s nonfiction. A year ago while a small group was examining which sections of a page from The Snake Scientist were pure expository text and which were more narrative nonfiction, one student looked up at me and said, “I know this is narrative nonfiction here, but I think Sy makes it come alive so much that it’s almost persuasive text—I am suddenly loving snakes!”
In an interview Sy said “We are on the cusp of either destroying this sweet, green Earth—or revolutionizing the way we understand the rest of animal creation. It’s an important time to be writing about the connections we share with our fellow creatures.” Sy’s books inspire exploration of these special connections. Her books also show the extreme measures she undertakes in her research to better understand the animals she meets.
My children think Sy is amazing because she knows so much about animals they have come to love.
My students think Sy is amazing because she writes such eloquent nonfiction text for children.
I think Sy is an amazing superstar because she writes books that not only teach students about animals and the work of biologists and research scientists, but that also convince children — and adults— that the absolute coolest job in the world is being a nonfiction children’s author.
Simon & Schuster has ordered a fifth printing of The Soul of an Octopus
Great News: The Soul of an Octopus has been “longlisted” for the National Book Awards. There are 10 fine nonfiction books on the list.
Fifth Printing. Simon & Schuster has ordered a fifth printing of The Soul of an Octopus.
Dava Sobel, author of Longitude, is one of Sy’s favorite writers. Sy is happy to hear that Sobel will be discussing The Soul of an Octopus in the classes she’s teaching at Smith College. Sobel writes: “I read a few books myself this summer, including Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, and H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. All three will come up in conversation in this year’s classes, as they offer, respectively, a fictionalized account of organisms affected by climate change, a scientist’s appreciation of a misunderstood mollusk, and the bonds between humans and other animals.”
Westmoreland Town Library welcomes Sy with some Octopus Cupcakes
Octo-occupation. For the third month in a row The Soul of an Octopus is on the New York Times Animals Bestseller List. It’s at number ten.
Indie Bestseller. The Soul of an Octopus has returned to the bestseller list of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA). It’s at number 13 on the hardcover nonfiction list for the week ending August 9.
“Eight Armed Mischief: The Deeply Intelligent Octopus.” Sy’s interview on the Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC) inspired the staff there to come up with “The Five Top Octopus Occupations.”
Kiwi Octopus. Sy talks to Radio New Zealand.
Forget Shark Week — what we really need is Octopus Week
Forget Shark Week — what we really need is Octopus Week, the New York Post declares after reading The Soul of an Octopus. And they back up their case with videos of octopuses performing their usual amazing feats.
The Soul of an Octopus moves closer to number 8. It’s at number nine on July’s New York Times bestsellers list of books about animals.
Fourth Printing. Simon & Schuster has gone back for a fourth printing of The Soul of an Octopus.
In great company, along with Jacques Cousteau and Rachael Carson: Off the Shelf picks 11 Books to Explore the Mysteries of the Ocean Deep.
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: Gravity’s Rainbow, James Bond novels, and Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus.
Octopuses Down Under, across the Atlantic and in the Hub (Boston). Sy talks to ABC Late Night Live in Australia to Sean Moncrieff, Ireland’s favorite radio show host, and to Modern Notion Daily. Sy also appears on WGBH’s television show, Greater Boston, at the 16:29 mark.
Booksellers love The Soul of The Octopus. That’s what three of Sy’s favorite independent booksellers told the New Hampshire weekly, The Hippo:
- Michael Herrman, owner of Gibson’s Bookstore: “A fascinating journey into the minds of creatures that are separated from us by half a billion years of evolution.”
- Holly and Willard Williams, owners of The Toadstool Bookshop: “Successfully foists her enthusiasm on all readers, even those who might not have initially shared her love.”
The latest Octo radio. While in Vancouver Sy spoke with CBC Radio One on The Early Edition about what she’s learned from octopuses: “They’ve taught me that there’s many different ways of knowing and thinking and feeling, all vivid and all important… These animals’ brains are so different from ours, their lives are so different from ours, their bodies are so different from ours… they taste with all of their skin, including their eyelids… They can know you and know you are different from this other person … and that to me expands the moral universe quite a bit.”
The story behind the book. In Sunday’s Boston Globe, Sy talks about why she wanted to write about Octopuses: “This strong sense of personality attracted her to the animals, said Montgomery, who co-writes a Globe column, Tamed and Untamed. ‘We split from our common ancestor with the octopus half a billion years ago. And yet — you can make friends with an octopus.’
“Is friendship the right word, really, or is that anthropomorphizing a set of animal reactions and responses? Montgomery rejects the question. ‘Anthropomorphism is such an interesting concept,’ she said. ‘It means projecting human thoughts and emotions onto an animal. Which implies that thoughts and feelings belong to humans alone. Of course, if you believe in evolution, or if you believe in the Bible, that’s not so. Both evolution and the Bible tell us that we’re part of a family.’ Read the rest of the short interview.
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Underwater photographer Keith Ellenbogen has signed copies of our book for kids, The Octopus Scientists, at New England Aquarium’s great gift shop. If you’re in the area, stop by and pick up a copy — and don’t forget to say hello to Elvira the octopus (who’s on eggs).
The Soul of an Octopus is on the Times’ Animals Best Sellers list
New York Times Best Seller. The Soul of an Octopus is on the Times’ Animals Best Sellers list for June at number 10 — but surely number 8 would make more sense.
The New York Times Sunday Book Review writes about the Octopus book surfacing on the Best Seller list — “Hugs and Kisses: Among the usual paeans to dogs and other cuddly creatures on the monthly animals best-seller list, there’s also a more surprising tribute: “The Soul of an Octopus,” by the naturalist Sy Montgomery, makes its debut at No. 10. In a recent interview with CBC News, Montgomery conceded octopuses don’t have the best reputation. “It has something to do with being an invertebrate, and being covered with slime . . . and those suckers,” she said. “But the suckers are great. It’s kind of like being hugged and kissed at the same time. You go home and you’ve got hickeys on your arms to explain to your husband. But you’ve been having this meaningful interaction with an octopus.”
Report from the road. Sy is on her book tour. She reports: “Souled” out! My talk on octopuses at Denver Museum of Nature and Science was SRO with many smart questions (including an excellent one from 4-year-old Henry about octopus ink)–what a great night!! Now about to cuddle with Cheryl Miller’s corgi Louie and Aussie Roddy before bed—early to rise to get to Columbus Ohio tomorrow. (Seattle was also SRO.)
And from Ohio, Sy reports: We sold out of books in Columbus! Great fun to be with dear friend Becky Rose and other Columbus Zoo staff and volunteers, as well as reunite with beloved host of the popular “All Sides” radio show at WOSU radio, Ann Fisher. Listen to the interview here.
Mail from an 11-year-old student who wants to be a Marine Biologist. She’ll attend Boston Latin in the fall. She heard Sy on the radio and wrote to thank her: “The way you spoke today inspired me to learn about octopi and the ocean, and I wanted to thank you.”
Bestseller. The Soul of an Octopus is on the bestseller list of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA). It’s at number 13 on the hardcover nonfiction list. Now onward, we hope, to the number 8 spot. Where else for an octopus book?
Third Printing. Simon & Schuster has gone back for a third printing of The Soul of an Octopus.
More Octo Radio. Listen to Sy’s interview on NHPR’s Word of Mouth.
Look for a review in The Week, June 12, 2015.
Beach Blanket Cephalopod. The Soul of an Octopus makes the list on NHPR’s Annual Summer Books Show.
What do Jackson Pollock, fruit flies and the Levy Distribution have to do with octopuses and human behavior? That’s what National Geographic asked Sy. Read the interview here.
Happiness. “What really makes humans happy, I believe, is our connection with the real, living, breathing, sweet green world, a world full of so many different kinds of creatures, a world endlessly mysterious and exciting and beautiful,” Sy says in a short interview with Thrive Wire.
“If you don’t love all creatures great and small after reading Sy Montgomery you have no heart.” – Kathye Fetsko Petrie, author, editor, and we’re proud to say, a friend from long ago.
Christopher Hogwood gets a great reception in Poland! Here’s just one of the enthusiastic reviews of Dobra Swinka, Dobra:
The Alien at Your Doorstep. Just off Seattle’s coastline lives something more alien, fascinating and emotionally appealing than any science-fiction space character. It has unearthly superpowers: It can taste with its skin; it can resist a pull 1,000 times its own weight; it can change color and shape, squirt ink and inject venom; it can grow to more than 100 pounds, yet pour its baggy, boneless body through an opening the size of an orange. Read Sy’s story in The Seattle Times.
Handle with Care. The June 2015 Reader’s Digest has an excerpt from Sy’s Birdology about how Brenda Sherburn raises baby hummingbirds. You can see Chris Buzelli’s art here.
In bookstores now: The Soul of an Octopus
Just published — May 15. In bookstores now: The Soul of an Octopus –A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. Atria Books | 272 pages | ISBN 9781451697711
The Soul of an Octopus is one of GoodReads Best Books of the Month for May 2015. “What an incredible story. It shows how interconnected all living things are on our planet and creates a reverence for all who reside here. Remarkable.”
Octopus on the radio. Our world is really the remnants of a previous one, says one Hawaiian story, and the only survivor of that previous world is the octopus. How did it survive? It slipped between a crack in the two worlds. Listen to Sy talk about The Soul of an Octopus on PRI’s The World. And on WGBH’s talk show Boston Public Radio.
Two legs good, eight legs best: five reasons to love octopuses. As if you needed any reasons for Octo Love. Read this article in The Guardian.
Dobra, Swinka, Dobra.
Dobra, Swinka, Dobra. Christopher Hogwood has arrived in Poland, far from his New Hampshire pig pen. Chris’ Polish publisher is beaming with pride:
Międzynarodowy bestseller!
Kiedy Sy przygarnęła cherlawego prosiaka, nie miała pojęcia, że to stworzenie – początkowo nie większe od kota – nie tylko przeżyje i urośnie do ogromnych rozmiarów, ale też podaruje jej to, czego zawsze szukała: rodzinę, dom i przyjaciół.
Christopher Hogwood, bo tak go nazwała, stał się ulubieńcem okolicy. Sąsiedzi przyprowadzali go, gdy uciekał, córki sąsiadki urządzały mu ciepłe kąpiele, a powiększające się grono znajomych zwoziło przepyszne resztki ze swoich stołów.
Inteligencja i sława czarno-białej świni rosły wraz z jej wagą – Chris trafił nawet do radia i telewizji.
Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cats has made the 2015 Green Earth Book Award Short List. The winning books will be chosen from this short list and will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, 2015.
“The Nature Generation created the Green Earth Book Award to promote books that inspire children to grow a deeper appreciation, respect, and responsibility for their natural environment. This is an annual award for books that best raise awareness of the beauty of our natural world and the responsibility we have to protect it.”
Kiss the Cheetah! Chasing Cheetahs is one of Kiss the Book’s Top 50 Books for Secondary School readers for 2015. The list will be presented at the Utah school librarians’ annual conference. And the cheetahs in great company: Check out the entire list of wonderful books for young readers here.