Lyanda Lynn

Haupt

Award-Winning Author

Naturalist & Ecophilosopher

Travels from: Seattle, WA

“With her deep intuition and expansive attention as our guides, Lyanda Haupt’s gorgeous words create a path to the place where science and spirit meet. It’s a barefoot path that wanders through solitudes and into community with frogs, moose, orca, and our own wildness.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

Lyanda Lynn Haupt is an award-winning author, naturalist, ecophilosopher, and speaker whose work explores the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world.. Her newest book is Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit (Little, Brown Spark 2023).

Lyanda’s writing is acclaimed for combining scientific knowledge with literary, poetic prose. Her previous books include: Mozart’s Starling The Urban Bestiary: Encountering the Everyday Wild, Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin’s Lost Notebooks, and Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds. She is a winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, the Nautilus Book Award, a finalist for the Orion Book Award, and a two-time winner of the Washington State Book Award.

Lyanda has created and directed educational programs for Seattle Audubon, worked in raptor rehabilitation in Vermont, and as a seabird researcher for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. Her essays has appeared in a variety of publications, including Orion, Discover, Utne, LA Times, Times Literary Supplement, Image, Huffington Post, Wild Earth, and Conservation Biology Journal. She lives the mossy green woodlands of Bellingham, Washington.

Lyanda Lynn's Featured Titles

Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

Cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures have proclaimed over millennia: Life on this planet is beautifully and radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds and spirits are affected by the whole of nature and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can we best live upon our imperiled, beloved earth?

Based on Lyanda’s bestselling book, this popular talk explores scientific research and nature connection practices that together provide a powerful invitation to transform our sense of belonging within the magic and wonder of the natural world.

*An optional PowerPoint displays artwork by UK-based artist Helen Nicholson alongside quotes from the book. This talk may be adapted for bird observation, gardening, spiritual/contemplative practice, or other organizational emphases.

Mozart’s Starling

In this lively talk, Lyanda explores the unlikely and remarkable bond between one of history’s most cherished composers and one of Earth’s most common (and most disliked!) birds. The intertwined stories of Mozart’s beloved pet and Lyanda’s own starling, Carmen, provide an unexpected window into human-animal friendships, music, animal intelligence, and the nature of creative inspiration.

In 1784, Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an version of his most recent piano concerto. He promptly bought the bird who lived with him for three years, influencing his work and serving as companion, distraction, consolation, and muse. Over two centuries later, starlings are reviled by birders and conservationists as they overrun sensitive habitats, outcompete local birds for nest sites and food, and decimate crops. A conservation activist herself, Lyanda’s preconceived notions were turned upside down when she rescued a baby starling of her own, and found herself enchanted by the same intelligence and playful spirit that had charmed Mozart.

*The accompanying PowerPoint features delightful photos and recordings of Carmen as well as images from Mozart’s time.

“When the Washington Library Association was looking for keynote speakers for our annual conference, Lyanda came highly recommended due to the quality and popularity of her books. I was delighted when it turned out that she is a first rate presenter. Lyanda used gentle yet dynamic storytelling in a way that had a banquet hall full of librarians laughing, crying and wistfully sighing.” ― Kate Laughlin, WLA Program Coordinator

“Lyanda Haupt has the rare ability to engage a mixed audience, impressing professionals with her knowledge and expertise, and charming the amateurs with her warmth and enthusiasm.” ― William B. Ashworth, Jr., The Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology

“Lyanda Lynn Haupt is a nature mystic, which is to say a now rare but entirely normal human who never lost touch with her innate rootedness in the greater web of life.” ― Bill Plotkin, Animas Valley Institute

Lyanda’s Newsletter Link

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Two time winner of the Washington State Book Award (Rare Encounters and Mozart’s Starling)
Winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award (Crow Planet)
Gold Medal and Grand Prize winner of Nautilus Book Awards (Rooted)
NPR Best Books of the Year (Mozart’s Starling)
Rooted and Crow Planet were National Bestsellers
Orion Book Award finalist (The Urban Bestiary)

Media clips

Spirituality & Health | Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit

NPR | How Do You Bond With Mozart? Adopt A Starling

The New York Times | Smart Birds

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.