Built Environment
HEATHER BOYER
Editorial Director
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Subjects: green building, land use planning, sustainable cities, transportation, urban design
I am very interested in books that take a fresh look at pressing urban problems around transportation, public space, energy, and housing—creating more livable lower-carbon living for urban regions with a focus on the most vulnerable populations. I have been with Island Press since 1992, and currently work out of Brooklyn, New York. In 2004-2005, I was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where I studied land-use planning, urban design, and real estate development. I am coauthor of Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change with Peter Newman and Timothy Beatley (Island Press 2009). My undergraduate degree is in English literature from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, after which I completed the Denver Publishing Institute.
STACY EISENSTARK
Senior Editor
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Subjects: natural systems in urban areas, sustainable cities, climate justice, natural disaster risk management, coastal resilience, urban biodiversity
I acquire books for general and professional audiences with a focus on nature and the built environment. I’m interested in projects with original arguments and unique perspectives that encourage readers to rethink how their cities are structured. I’m excited when books offer creative visions for building climate resilient cities that address extreme weather events, natural disasters, rising sea levels, and other climate-related hazards. I also seek works that investigate people’s access to urban natural resources, such as green space, clean air, and safe drinking water. Across all topics, I look for works that center racial, economic, and social justice approaches. Before joining Island Press in 2022, I was the environmental studies editor at the University of California Press and prior to that I edited natural environment books at Texas A&M University Press.
ANNIE BYRNES
Assistant Editor
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Subjects: environmental justice, sustainable cities, sustainable living, trail design, transportation, urban biodiversity, urban design
I am interested in books that uncover innovative solutions across all environmental topics. In particular, I seek books that explore the intersection between natural and built environments, especially those with an emphasis on human connection to the environment. Recently, I edited Beyond Greenways: The Next Step for City Trails and Walking Routes by Robert Searns, and worked on Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat by Edward Struzik and The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats by Timothy Beatley. I have been with Island Press since 2020 and currently work out of Boston, Massachusetts. I hold a B.A. in history and creative writing from Colby College in Waterville, Maine and completed the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford in 2019.
Health, Food, and Water
EMILY TURNER
Senior Editor
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Subjects: food, health, water, sustainable agriculture, toxics
I acquire books at the intersection of human and environmental health. I am especially interested in food, agriculture, and gardening; sustainable living; and the effect of chemicals on our health. My favorite books deliver an important message through a compelling narrative or voice. I first joined Island Press in 2002 and have also worked at New York University Press and Academy Chicago Publishers. I hold an M.A. in writing from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in English literature from the University of Virginia.
Natural World
ERIN JOHNSON
Editor
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Subjects: conservation biology, ecology, restoration, forests and wildlife, climate change, oceans, science communication, sustainable living, environmental justice
I acquire books about the natural world, and science communication. I am particularly interested in climate, justice, biodiversity, wildlife, oceans, fire, and forests; how scientists and communicators can convey critical research more effectively; and any book that shows us new ways to live sustainably on a crowded planet. I believe humor can have a place in effective environmental writing. Recent books I’ve enjoyed working on include Faith Kearn’s Getting to the Heart of Science Communication, Sandra Goldmark’s Fixation, and the third edition of Allan Savory’s classic Holistic Management. I joined Island Press in 2006 after working as a freelance copyeditor, and earlier work in natural resources consulting and forestry. I hold an MA in English literature from California State University, Chico, and a BS in forest management from the University of California, Berkeley.
REBECCA BRIGHT
Editor and Subsidiary Rights Manager
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Subjects: ecology, conservation, biology, natural history, environmental justice, oceans, environmental history
I welcome projects that explore novel ways of looking at the natural world and make innovative science accessible to a wider audience. I’m particularly interested in books shaped by a strong narrative, surprising argument, or engaging writing. I’ve recently worked on a comic book adaptation of Edward O. Wilson’s classic memoir Naturalist and Thicker Than Water by Erica Cirino, an eye-opening global tour of the causes of and solutions to our plastic pollution crisis. Along with my acquisitions work, I manage the licensing of subsidiary rights for Island Press titles, including international and audio rights. I joined the editorial team at Island Press in 2010 and hold a BA in English with minor studies in biology from Whitman College.
Island Press Urban Resilience Project
LAURIE MAZUR
Urban Resilience Editor (short form)
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Subjects: climate change adaptation, social equity, urban built environment, conservation
I lead the Island Press Urban Resilience Project, which seeks to imagine and inspire the sustainable, equitable, climate-resilient cities of the future. In this role, I work with leading thinkers from a variety of fields—including ecology, community development, and green building—to draft and place blog posts, articles, and other “short-form” writing. Over the years, I have written extensively about environment, health, and social justice issues. I edited A Pivotal Moment: Population, Justice and the Environmental Challenge (Island Press, 2009) and Beyond the Numbers: A Reader on Population, Consumption, and the Environment (Island Press, 1994). With Michael Jacobson, I coauthored Marketing Madness: A Survival Guide to a Consumer Society (Westview Press, 1995).