Science
Travel
Nature & Environment
Arts & Culture
Erich Hoyt has spent 4 decades working with whales to understand their daily lives and to protect their habitat in the oceans. As Research Fellow with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) since 2004, Hoyt leads its Healthy Seas programme. As part of his work for WDC, he co-chairs the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force which is rolling out a global scientific tool to map the habitats for 130 marine mammal species.
Hoyt has authored 26 adult nonfictionbooks including Creatures of the Deep; Insect Lives; The Earth Dwellers—Adventures in the Land of Ants; Orca: The Whale Called Killer; Strange Sea Creatures and Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. His books, including 5 for children, have been translated into 15 languages in 25 countries. He has written for National Geographic, Sunday Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, Defenders, BBC Wildlife and has more than 60 peer-reviewed papers.
Hoyt received the Mandy McMath Award from the European Cetacean Society for his body of work on marine conservation. He is a former Vannevar Bush Fellow in the Public Understanding of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was twice a James Thurber Writer-in-Residence at the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. He has won many book and article awards including ASJA’s Nonfiction Book of the Year for Creatures of the Deep and, in 2024, for Planktonia. In 2025, he was recognised in the UK New Year’s Day Honours, receiving the award of OBE as a whale researcher and author “for services to marine conservation”.
A Canadian-American dual citizen, he lives in Dorset, England, with his wife Dr Sarah Elizabeth Wedden, a developmental biologist, and their children.
Subjects
General
Specialties
Whales, dolphins and marine mammals. The Ocean. Parks and Protected Areas. Deep sea creatures.
Skills
- Speechwriting
- Technical writing
- Scripts
- Profiles
- Articles
- Books
- Brochures
- Feature writing
- Essays
- Investigative reporting
Book Credits
PLANKTONIA, available in both English and Japanese.
Hardcover, 2020; softcover, 2024 (US, Canada, UK, Europe, World), 112 pages, 90+ photos, index. All new undersea stories from the “Creatures” series of books by Erich Hoyt. Beautifully designed award-winning gift book for all ages “celebrating the ocean’s wonders… show-casing the mesmerising range of life far beneath the waves.”—BBC Wildlife. Also available in Japanese.
Expanded new edition, Sept. 2019 (31 Oct. in UK, Europe). Paperback, 320 pages + 32 pages color signatures, 100+ pages of new text, photos, illustrations & maps. “Superb…one of the best nature books of the year”—Publishers Weekly. Also available in Chinese.
Softcover, 3rd edition, 2021. 288 pages. 135 photos and illustrations. Dive to the bottom to the bottom of the sea, walk along the world’s longest mountain range and get face to face with new species being discovered in the deep. “Outstanding Book of the Year”, American Society of Journalists & Authors, New York. Also available in Chinese.
Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Hardcover, gift book for all ages, 400 state of the art photos & illustrations, 300 pages, Dec. 2017, updated 2nd edition paperback 2023. Multi award winning: “One of the best reference titles of the year… immerses readers in the world of these marine mammals. An excellent balance of scientific study combined with a deep concern for conservation and habitat preservation.” — Library Journal. Also available in Japanese.
Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Paperback, 2nd edition, 2011. 477 pages. Fully revised, 20 colour plates, 100+ maps, figures, tables & boxes, 10 case studies, bibliog., index, 8 3/4 x 11 inches. Taylor & Francis/Routledge and Earthscan, London & New York. “This extraordinary volume continues to be the ‘bible’ of cetacean habitat conservation efforts.” — Marine Ecology
Hardcover/ paperback, 2013, reprint 2019. For ages 10 to adult, good intro for adults. 64 pages, 50 colour photographs, 9 x 9 inches. Firefly Books, US, UK and Canada. An illustrated look at the weird and wonderful creatures that live in some of the deepest parts of the sea. “Eerie, riveting eye candy for budding biologists and casual browsers alike.” — Kirkus Reviews
Hardcover/ paperback for ages 10 to adult, good intro for adults. 64 pages, 9 x 9 inches. Firefly Books, US, UK and Canada. “We all need heroes…A rewarding, inspiring look at…whales and dolphins and people who have committed their lives to finding scientific solutions.” — William Rossiter, Cetacean Society International
Hardcover, Simon & Schuster, New York; paperback, Touchstone. 320 pages, 6 x 9 inches. “Intriguing… enthralling… The ant’s eye view of life works spectacularly… a few of the ants Mr. Hoyt describes are even as likeable as the people.” — The New York Times
Hardcover Wiley, New York; paperback, Harvard University Press. 360 pages, 6 x 9 inches. “Erich Hoyt and Ted Schultz share their magnificent obsession in Insect Lives…a tour de force of popularization. An excellent, illuminating compendium.”—New Scientist
Hardcover, paperback, e-book, latest edition 2013. 128 pages. “Nature writing at its best.” — Helen Johnston, author, editor. “An enthralling story… authoritative, interesting and exciting. Read this book and be astonished.” — Science Books & Films, AAAS
Book List by Category
Narrative nonfiction (author)
Orca: The Whale Called Killer (Five editions: Dutton, New York; Hale, London; Firefly, Toronto; Dobutsu Sha, Tokyo; Kindle eBook, ePub edition; Firefly, 5th expanded edition, 9/2019)
The Earth Dwellers (Six editions: Simon & Schuster, New York; Touchstone, New York; Kagaku Asahi, Tokyo; Hainan, China; Mainstream, UK)
Large format illustrated narrative nonfiction (author)
Seasons of the Whale (Eight editions: Chelsea Green, US; Nimbus, Canada; Mainstream, Edinburgh & London; Marcel Broquet, Montreal & Paris; HSI, Washington, DC; WDCS, UK; Nature Editions, UK, e-book)
Creatures of the Deep (Three editions: Firefly, Toronto, New York, 2001, 2014, 2021)
Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Two editions: Hardcover: Firefly, Toronto, New York, 2017; Paperback, 2023)
Large format illustrated nonfiction (with co-authors as noted)
Planktonia (Hardcover edition: Firefly, Toronto, New York, 2023)
Strange Sea Creatures (Two editions: Hardcover edition: Firefly, Toronto, New York, 2020; Paperback, 2024)
Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises (with Mark Carwardine, Ewan Fordyce and Peter Gill) (Nineteen editions: Harper-Collins, London; Time-Life/Discovery Channel, New York; Fog City Press, San Francisco; Könemann, Germany, France and Netherlands; Planeta, others)
Sharks & Whales (with Leighton Taylor and Mark Carwardine) (Fog City Press, San Francisco; other editions)
Anthologies (as editor and co-author)
Insect Lives (with Ted Schultz) (Five editions: Wiley, New York; Harvard University Press, Cambridge; Mainstream, Edinburgh & London; Amazon Kindle edition)
Academic books (with co-authors as noted)
Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Earthscan, Taylor & Francis, London and New York) (First edition, 2005; Second, completely revised edition, 2011)
Humpback Whales of Russian Far East Seas. Photo-ID Catalog 2004-2014. (with Alexander Burdin and Olga Titova) (Russian Geographical Society, Moscow, Russia)
The Killer Whales of Eastern Kamchatka (with Alexander Burdin, Olga Filatova and Hal Sato) (Alaska SeaLife Centre, USA)
Marine Mammals of Russia (with Alexander Burdin and Olga Filatova) (Kirov, Russia)
The Performing Orca (WDCS, UK)
Conserving the Wild Relatives of Crops (Six editions: Addison-Wesley, Boston & México DF; WWF-IUCN-IPGRI, Geneva and Rome; BRG, Paris; IBAMA, Brasilia; and others)
Children’s nonfiction (author)
Weird Sea Creatures (Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Whale Rescue (Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Meeting the Whales (Camden House, Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Riding with the Dolphins (Camden House, Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Extinction A-Z (Enslow, NJ)
Guide books (author)
The Whale Watcher’s Handbook (Six editions: Doubleday, New York; Penguin, Toronto, London; Stein, Germany)
The Whales of Canada (Camden House, Firefly, Toronto, New York)
e-books (author, editor)
Whale Watching Blueprint I (Nature Editions, UK)
Insect Lives (Wiley, New York)
Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (Earthscan, Taylor & Francis, New York & London)
Orca: The Whale Called Killer (Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Creatures of the Deep (Firefly, Toronto, New York)
Seasons of the Whale (Nature Editions, UK)
Chapters in books (author, partial list)
Whales and Dolphins: Cognition, Culture, Conservation and Human Perceptions (P. Brakes and M.P. Simmonds, editors; Earthscan/ Taylor & Francis, London and New York)
Sharks. Conservation, Governance and Management (Techera, E.J. and N. Klein, eds.), Routledge, New York and Oxford
Whale-watching. Sustainable Tourism and Ecological Management (Higham, J., Bejder, L. and R. Williams, eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 3rd edition (Würsig et al, editors, Academic Press, San Diego) — 2 articles
Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2nd edition (Perrin et al, editors, Academic Press, San Diego) — 2 articles
Between Species: Celebrating the Dolphin-Human Bond (T. Frohoff and B. Peterson, editors; Sierra Club Books)
Down to Earth (Michael Rosen, Editor; Harcourt Brace, San Diego, New York)
Ecotourism: Focus on Wildlife and Local Communities (Icfai University Press, Hyderabad, India)
Encyclopedia of the Biosphere: A Guide to the World’s Ecosystems (Gale + Spanish and Catalan editions) — 5 sections
Political Life in Canada (Prentice-Hall, Toronto)
Caribbean Islands Handbook
Mexico Handbook
Greenpeace Book of Dolphins
Tools of the Writer’s Trade (ASJA, Harper Collins, New York)
Awards, Honors, Appointments
OBE, Awarded “Officer of the British Empire” in 2025 as author and whale researcher “for services to marine conservation”.
Mandy McMath Award from the European Cetacean Society for writing, policy and scientific work for marine conservation (2014).
Vannevar Bush Fellow in the Public Understanding of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1985-86).
James Thurber Writer-in-Residence at the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio (1992, 2000). He has won many book and article awards ASJA Nonfiction Book of the Year for Creatures of the Deep (2002).
ASJA Nonfiction Children’s Book Award, Honorable Mention (2018, 2021).
Environment Canada Magazine Award, Best Article
Kortright Award, Best Article
Animal Rights Book Award
