This event will take place off-site at the Irving Theater in the CODE Building (225 W. Water St.) and will be free to attend. Please use the theater entrance on Water St. Doors will open at 6:00 PM.
Join us for an evening with New York Times–bestselling author Jennifer Ackerman, who will speak about her new book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds. This in-person event will be free and open to the public. We recommend arriving early for the best seating.
About the Book: From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way comes a brilliant scientific investigation into owls—the most elusive of birds—and why they exert such a hold on human imagination. Jennifer Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations about owls and dives deep into why these birds beguile us. What an Owl Knows is an awe-inspiring exploration of owls across the globe and through human history, and a spellbinding account of their astonishing hunting skills, communication, and sensory prowess. By providing extraordinary new insights into the science of owls, What an Owl Knows pulls back the curtain on the nature of the world’s most enigmatic group of birds.
About the Author: Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about science and nature for more than three decades. Her most recent book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds (forthcoming from Penguin Press, June 2023), explores recent findings on the biology, behavior, and conservation of owls. Her previous book, The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think, was a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Her New York Times–bestselling book, The Genius of Birds, has been translated into twenty-five languages and was named one of the best nonfiction books of 2016 by The Wall Street Journal, a Best Science Book by NPR’s “Science Friday,” and a Nature Book of the Year by London’s Sunday Times. Her other books include Birds by the Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast (a 2019 reissue by Penguin Press of her first book, Notes from the Shore), Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body, and Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity. Ackerman’s articles and essays have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Scientific American, and many other publications. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction, a Bunting Fellowship, and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
What an Owl Knows will be released on June 13. If you would like to pre-order the book to read before the event, please see below for the New Dominion Bookshop book order form or call the shop at 434-295-2552. There is no need to pre-order the book if you plan to attend the event and purchase the book in person that evening.
"[S]plendid and spellbinding...[Jennifer Ackerman] shows us a new way to view birds, yes—but perhaps even better, through their eyes, intellect, and more-than-human senses, it lets birds reveal to us the hidden realities of our shared world."
—Sy Montgomery on The Bird Way
New Dominion Bookshop Book Order Form
Shop local and support your community bookstore! Order books from New Dominion Bookshop by filling out the contact form below. Please make sure that you list the book title(s) that you would like to order. We will give you a call when your order is ready. If you are placing a pre-order for a book that has not yet been released, your book will be ready on or soon after the book’s release date. There is no need to pre-pay. We will collect your payment when you pick up your order or when your order is shipped. If you would like your book(s) to be signed and/or inscribed, please include that information in the “Message for Our Booksellers” field.