Emily Monosson—Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic

BLIGHT:
FUNGI AND THE COMING PANDEMIC
Emily Monosson
W.W. Norton Press, July 18, 2023. $28.95
ISBN: 978-1324007012; ASIN: ‎B0BHPTXXLM

Monosson reports:

Blight is about fungal pandemics across species, from trees to frogs to crops.

My first real acquaintance with a fungus-like pathogen was a disease called late blight that spread up the U.S. East Coast in 2009, devouring tomato plants. The devastation was shocking. Late blight returned and returned and remains a problem today. The same organism contributed to the Irish Potato Famine.

A few years later, several scientists published an article in Nature titled “Emerging Fungal Threats to Animal, Plant and Ecosystem Health.” They were ringing a warning bell: fungal and fungus-like pathogens can be catastrophic, not just for crop plants but also for wildlife, forests and in some cases humans. I wrote a proposal on the topic but later decided to write a different, more hopeful book.

Over the years the fungus problem not only didn’t go away, but worsened: dozens of frog species went extinct, millions of bats died, iconic pines were dying across the western mountains. Scientists still were ringing that bell. In the spring of 2019, I wrote a new proposal and found an agent, who sold the book to W.W. Norton.

I intended to travel and interview scientists in the field, but COVID arrived. Almost all interviews were over Zoom. I also relied on primary literature and other publications which, if not available through open access (and many were not), I acquired through the University of Massachusetts, where I hold an adjunct faculty position. I am grateful to the University for that: too many scientists and writers do not have easy access to primary literature.

One thing I swore I would do better this time around was to keep better track of information: interviews, citations, notes, out-takes. I used a spreadsheet and Mendeley but if there is a next time, I will (I hope) do even better. While I checked and rechecked facts and figures, I wish I had thought to hire a fact-checker.

Finally, the one chapter I thought was key ended up being distributed throughout the book. My advice to new authors: remain flexible, track your info, and consider hiring a fact-checker for peace of mind.

Contact info:

• Emily Monosson: 413-522-1937, emonosson@gmail.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-monosson-41bb205/
• Book: BLIGHT: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic
• Publicist: Will Scarlett, wscarlett@wwnorton.com
• Agent: Michelle Tessler, michelle@tessleragency.com

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Emily Monosson.

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