Julia Whitty

Julia Whitty
Born
Bogotá, Colombia
OccupationsFilmmaker, environmental journalist, author
Known forUnderwater and nature documentaries and books, environmental correspondence for Mother Jones
AwardsJohn Burroughs Medal (2008)

PEN USA Award
Kiriyama Prize (2008)

O. Henry Award (1999)

Julia Whitty is an Australian-American documentary filmmaker, environmental journalist, author, and adventurer. Born in Bogotá, Colombia to a Tasmanian father and South Asian mother, her family immigrated to the United States in her early childhood. She is known for her extensive career in nature documentaries, her three award-winning books on the natural world, and her years as environmental correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.

Ursula K. LeGuin called her writing "wonderfully various, unpredictable, and subversive"

Career

Filmmaking

Whitty spent over two decades writing, producing, photographing, and editing more than 70 nature documentaries, including two 26-part series. Specializing in underwater cinematography, her films have aired globally on major networks including PBS, The Discovery Channel., and National Geographic

Journalism and writing

Whitty transitioned into print media, writing both fiction and nonfiction, contributing articles, essays, and short stories to publications such as Harper's, The Paris Review, the New York Times, Grist, Zoetrope: All-Story, and others. For nearly a decade, she served as the Environmental Correspondent for Mother Jones magazine, where she specialized in long-form journalism, with over 1000 articles and blog posts, focusing on biodiversity loss, population issues, and the climate crisis.

Awards and honors

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "National Geographic Explorer - Plumbing the depths". nationalgeographic.com.
  2. 1 2 3 McConahey, Meg (25 July 2010). "Whitty's Quest for Discovery: Sebastopol naturalist, diver, and documentary filmmaker turned award-winning author". The Press Democrat. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "About". Julia Whitty. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Amazon – About the author". amazon.com.
  5. ↑ "Encyclopedia.com - Contemporary Authors - Julia Whitty". encyclopedia.com.
  6. ↑ "Iowa State University bio". iastate.edu.
  7. ↑ "Tortoise cover with blurb". archive.org.
  8. ↑ Movie Lover 93 (14 April 2019). 20 Years With The Dolphins. Retrieved 17 August 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Doralisa (21 February 2006). "Introducing Julia Whitty". Oceana USA. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "PBS Need To Know". pbs.org.
  11. ↑ "Grist re: Need To Know". grist.org.
  12. ↑ "Harper's - Julia Whitty". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Julia Whitty". The Paris Review. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "NY Times – Fragile Edge excerpt". nytimes.com.
  15. ↑ "Grist – articles by Julia Whitty". grist.org.
  16. ↑ "Julia Whitty". Zoetrop All-Story. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Publishers Weekly review". publishersweekly.com.
  18. ↑ "Julia Whitty bylines". Mother Jones. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "O. Henry Prize Stories 1999 Table of Contents". bookshop.org.
  20. ↑ "Random House O. Henry Prize past winners". randomhouse.com.
  21. ↑ "Prize Stories 1999: The O. Henry Awards". bookfever. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  22. ↑ National Magazine Award. "Awards and Honors" (PDF). Harper's Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Julia Whitty". Ploughshares. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award Winners Announced". JFK Library. 4 March 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Past Winners". John Burroughs Association. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "American Museum of Natural History – John Burroughs Medal 2008 awarded" (PDF). amnh.org.
  27. ↑ "BookPrize – Julia Whitty". book-prize-index.vercel.app.
  28. 1 2 "Awards". Julia Whitty.
  29. ↑ "Kiriyama Prize winners". librarything.com.
  30. 1 2 "BookBrowse - Author Snapshot". bookbrowse.com.
  31. ↑ "PEN USA Awards". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "Dayton Literary Peace Prize". daytonliterarypeaceprize.org.
  33. ↑ "Orion Book Award for Deep Blue Home". orionmagazine.org.
  34. ↑ "Washington Post - Best of Nonfiction Book 2010". iastate.edu.
  35. ↑ "John Bartlow Martin Award - Fate of the Ocean". medill.northwestern.edu.
  36. ↑ Guyette, Curt (4 December 2012). "Project Censored: Uncovering the most underreported news stories of 2012". San Antonio Current. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "Winners: SEJ 10th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment". Society of Environmental Journalists. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Poynter – SEJ winners". poynter.org.
  39. ↑ "Rona Jaffe Award 2010 announced". publishersweekly.com.
  40. ↑ Treadway, Jessica (Fall 2002). "Review of "A Tortoise for the Queen of Tonga"". Ploughshares. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  41. ↑ Morris, Holly (3 June 2007). "Water World". New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Oprah.com review". oprah.com.
  43. ↑ Heinrichs, Christine (May 2010). "review of Deep Blue Home". Earth Island Journal. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  44. ↑ "Washington Post Opinion - Deep Blue Home". washingtonpost.com.
  45. ↑ "LA Times - Deep Blue Home". latimes.com.
  46. ↑ https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2006/11/thirteenth-tipping-point/
  47. ↑ "KUER – radio interview". kuer.org.
  48. ↑ "Undersea by Rachel Carson – Nawakum Press". nawakumpress.com.
  49. ↑ "Undersea by Rachel Carson auction". pbagalleries.com.
  50. ↑ "Undersea by Rachel Carson review". vialibri.net.
  51. ↑ "Undersea by Rachel Carson review". thewholebookexperience.com.