Isaac Yuen

Cover reveal for the English version of THE SOUND ATLAS: A GUIDE TO STRANGE SOUNDS ACROSS LANDSCAPES AND IMAGINATION, co-written with @michaela_vieser and coming via @reaktionbooks this fall. We had a wonderful time researching and writing this collection of 36 essays. From fish love songs to inexplicable hums, from wind harps to organ pieces composed to play over centuries, we hope you enjoy exploring the many worlds of sounds that exist all around us! 👉 US and UK preorder links in bio! #soundstories #nonfiction #essaycollection #armchairtravel #naturewriting #travelwriting

On the first anniversary of Utter, Earth’s publication, I had the pleasure of chatting with writer and interviewer Constance Malloy over at The Burning Hearth. We talk inspiration, process, art, AI, and even some Star Trek! 👉 Link to the full interview in bio A lot has happened since the book’s release last April: In-person readings in Germany, the US, and Canada; virtual readings with fellow writers at the Hippocampus Creative Nonfiction conference (@hippocampusmag ) and the Planetary Arts Festival (@reconnection.earth ). I’ve gotten to chat with the Vice President of Education at the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation (@eowilsonbiodiversityfoundation ), and delivered a guest lecture on wonder writing for the EU-funded Green Academy Seminar series. Yet the most rewarding part of the journey thus far have come from hearing how readers engaged with the work. So thank you to those who took a chance and picked up a copy. Thank you to those who taken the time to pen a review. And thank you to those who have reached out either in-person or via email to share your thoughts about the book. How you found it challenging and overwhelming. Bizarre and convoluted. Uplifting and nourishing. It’s all good, all wonderful, to know that the words are still finding eyes and minds. A much more accomplished writer friend of mine shared this with me last year, prior to the book coming out: “In my experience, the two most gratifying kinds of moments [as an author] in that whole long process are when I make an exciting new discovery while I’m writing, and when I hear nice things from individual readers.” I now find this especially true, here in the now. As writers, we tend to focus on the future rather than the past, pursuing the next great project, the next flash of insight. But on the eve of Utter, Earth turning one, it was nice to have the opportunity to reflect on a work that has been put out there, still sailing around the world, still reaching people. If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is. Artwork by @montagueprojects Book published by @wvupress

Today marks the second anniversary of Utter, Earth: Advice on Living in a More-than-Human World being out in the world! In the last year, it’s since been published in Korean by Haksan under the title of “A Hitchhiker's Guide to the World: A love letter to the beings living together on the amazing planet called Earth”—a title I think so very succinctly (🤣) captures the spirit of the book. Thanks to the enthusiastic endorsement by Lee Jung-mo, former director of the Gwacheon National Science Museum and fellow lover of dinosaurs. Thanks to translator Seong Sohui, who expertly managed the Herculean task of capturing the essence of these odd and occasionally chaotic essays into what seems to be a charming and informative read. The Korean edition also afforded me the opportunity to dedicate it to my dear friend Matt You, who tragically passed away while I was working on the book. As always, my heartfelt thanks to all the readers out there for giving Utter, Earth a chance and a home. It’s always a highlight of my day to receive a note or comment about your experiences with the earthplay and wordplay within its pages. With gratitude, Isaac @wvupress @allez_pub #utterearth #naturewriting #essaycollection 🐟🦏🐢🐝

We just received our complex Chinese edition of the Sound Atlas. Beautiful cover and the loveliest note from our Taiwanese publisher.

Delighted to announce that the Chinese translation of THE SOUND ATLAS is now available from Taiwanese publisher 遠足文化, who did such an amazing job with the cover and overall design. Thanks to Academia Sinica Associate Research Fellow Tzu-Hao Lin for the new foreword, and here’s an excerpt we wrote to introduce the book to a new audience: “...Listening, we believe, is an exercise in attention and devotion. When our minds travel to Taiwan, we envision the island’s lush forests, towering mountains, and bustling cities. We think of the multitude of stories contained within the sounds of monsoon rains falling on leaves, windswept waves crashing against shores, the happy chimes of well-loved bicycles, the sizzling of food on well-used pans. We think about how the hearing of these sounds, so ephemeral in their essence, may come to mean something or everything to you, the reader. It is our hope that The Sound Atlas is a reminder of the sonic realms that exist in parallel to our everyday one. We hope that after reading this book, you too will take the time to tune into those echo worlds that can define your home, your surroundings, your reality. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for listening." Michaela Vieser & Isaac Yuen (袁家麒) Order here: .tw/?md=gwindex&cl=book&at=bookcontent&id=21352

Such a treat to receive my contributor’s copy of Environmental and Nature Writing: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology from Bloomsbury Press. Edited by Sean Prentiss and Joe Wilkins (both amazing writers in their own right), the first edition came out nearly a decade ago; it not only helped me with the craft of writing about nature, but also directed me to writers I would otherwise never come across. Imagine my delight when years later, Sean asked me for permission to include one of my short stories (“Our Museum of the Future,” previously published in Shenandoah) for this updated second edition. From the back cover description: “Offering guidance on writing poetry, nonfiction, and fiction alongside an extensive anthology of models, Environmental and Nature Writing is a complete introduction to the art and craft of writing about the environment in a wide range of styles. Now fully revised and updated throughout, this second edition features: a whole new chapter on place-based activities; a more international look at the genre with a completely revised anthology; and a greater focus on climate justice and sustainable transformation.” I look forward to spending some time delving into this new volume filled with new advice and new writers: I hope you will, too. Whether you’re interested in reading about how nature writing works or writing about the environment yourself, I can think of no better place to begin than with either edition of this wonderful resource. #naturewriting #environment #anthology #creativewriting

Quiet days out on my beloved Oder river. The river froze and its pressure raised the ground water in the adjacent wetlands. Met with all colours and textures of ice. It was a different kind of silence to the snow, that set in a few days later. On my drive back and forth from the city I listened to an amazing radio feature by @deutschlandfunkkultur on Toru Takemitsu, the Japanese composer on the in-between. Out on the ice I remembered a quote of his we put in our Sound Atlas: „I feel it would be ideal if my music could sound, and when the echoes of these sounds come back, I would no longer be there.“ The sound atlas by @utter_earth and @michaela_vieser now out in the UK with @reaktionbooks and in North America with @uchicagopress Photo by @utter_earth #torutakemitsu #ice #soundscapes #soundatlas #soundofsilence

Such a nice surprise to kick off the new year with another review for The Sound Atlas, this time over at the always amazing Hippocampus Magazine (@hippocampusmag ), a publication that champions creative nonfiction like no other. Many thanks to reviewer Lindsey Pharr (@lindsey_a_pharr ) for articulating the core thesis of the book, which seeks to catch a reader’s attention with an odd note or account that hopefully lingers long in the mind after—the way that memorable sounds and stories often do. Pharr also pays Michaela and I the best compliment we could hope for, by writing that “...the authors’ collective voice⎯a marvel of craft, this one cohesive voice from two writers⎯blends David Attenborough’s pathos with Carl Sagan’s awe and a dash of Werner Herzog’s bleakness.” Wow! You can read the full review by clicking on my bio, or find it under the REVIEWS section of Hippocampus at / The Sound Atlas by Michaela Vieser (@michaela_vieser ) and I is now available via @reaktionbooks  in the UK and via @uchicagopress in North America. Thanks for reading/listening! #soundstories #soundatlas #bookreview #newbooks #essays #creativenonfiction #curiousminds

Thanks to Derek Turner for this in-depth review of The Sound Atlas over at @engelsbergideas . Love the notion that the book is a gazetteer of sorts, celebrating the wondrous multitude of sonic worlds while advocating for a quieter aural ecology amidst the din of the Anthropocene. The full review can be read here: /reviews/musica-universalis/ The Sound Atlas by Michaela Vieser (@michaela_vieser ) and I is available now via @reaktionbooks in the UK and November in North America @uchicagopress . Thanks for reading/listening! #musicauniversalis #deeplistening #soundstories #soundatlas #bookreview #newbook

Lovely to have The Sound Atlas be featured at NATURE (@nature_the_journal ) as five of the best science titles! Other books on the list by Andrew Robinson include The Genius Bat by Yossi Yovel (@stmartinspress ), Charlatans by Moisés Naím and Quico Toro (@basicbooks ), Lab Dog by Melanie D.G. Kaplan (@sealpress ), and The Buried City by Gabriel Zuchtriegel; all fantastic gifts for the curious reader! #bookreviews #soundatlas #naturejournal #sciencebooks #bookgifts

A few of my favourite books this year, from writers I very much admire: ✨ Skin, by Catherine Bush (@catebush123 ), published by Goose Lane Editions (@goose_lane ) A collection multitudinous in form and feel. Want richly textured short stories? Intense flash fiction shards? A novella decades in the making? Experiments with the non-human voice? They’re all here. ✨ Endling, by Maria Reva (@revawrites ), published by Knopf(@knopfca ) A book of ruptures that’s simultaneously bizarre, funny, tragic, and tender, crafted by an absolute magician. ✨ The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere by Nicholas Triolo (@nicholas.triolo ), published by Milkweed Editions (@milkweed_books ) Circumambulate the world with this as your guide. Return with insights beautifully wrought and fiercely fought for. ✨ Islands of Abandonment: Life in a Post-Human Landscape, by Cal Flyn (@calflyn ), published by Penguin (@penguinrandomhouse ) The only book here that wasn’t published this year, but the one that I had been long searching for, in mood, in theme, in contemplation of how we can engage with the world differently, or perhaps leave it be. 📚 What are your favourite books this year?

Delighted to have The Sound Atlas reviewed by Jules Stewart over at Geographical (@geographical_magazine ), the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (@rgs_ibg ) Since its inception in 1935, the monthly publication has covered topics around wildlife, culture, and geography through the written word and beautiful photography. An excerpt from the review: “So much of our knowledge base is visual that we often lock ourselves into a single-sense perspective. The authors contend that a sonic revolution is underway, enabling us to tune in to a multitude of invisible worlds...” The Sound Atlas: A Guide to Strange Sounds Across Landscapes and Imagination is now available at your local bookstore in the UK through @reaktionbooks and in North America through @uchicagopress . It makes for a great gift for the sense-curious, the armchair traveler, and/or the lover of oddities in your life! #bookstagram #travelwriting #naturewritng #soundatlas #deeplistening #newbook