Meet our 2025 Phil Reed Environmental Writing Award finalists
The Southern Environmental Law Center is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2025 Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award. Presented each year, the Reed Award celebrates writers who achieve both literary excellence and offer extraordinary insight into the South’s natural treasures and environmental challenges.
The work of this year’s finalists explores a wide array of environmental topics, ranging from threats to wildlife and dwindling habitats, environmental injustices faced by Southern communities, the challenges our region faces as it deals with the realities of climate change to the importance of environmental conservation.
The award recognizes outstanding writing in two categories: the Book Category for works of nonfiction (not self-published) and the Journalism Category for newspaper, magazine, and online writing published by a recognized institution such as a news organization, university, or nonprofit group. This year, we received more than 25 book submissions and nearly 30 journalism articles and collections for consideration.
Book category finalists:
- Joanna Brichetto, This is How a Robin Drinks: Essays on Urban Nature
- Leigh Ann Henion, Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark
- Gerald P. McCarthy, Blueprint for Going Green: How a Small Foundation Changed the Model for Environmental Conservation
Journalism category finalists:
- Ashli Blow, MLK50
“South Memphis residents frustrated even as company leaking toxins says it’s leaving”
- Benji Jones, Vox
“There’s a secret wildlife wonderland hidden in the US — and it’s in danger”
- Jared Kofsky, Maia Rosenfeld, Steve Osunsami, ABC News
“ABC News Investigates: Our Inheritance is Washing Away”
Accompanying broadcast piece: Environmental injustice along an Alabama freeway
- Melba Newsome, bioGraphic
“River Guardians”
Reed Award winners are selected by a national panel of judges that includes leading environmental writers, journalists, and advocates.
Winners will be announced in early February 2025. There will be an award ceremony honoring the winners held on March 21, in Charlottesville, Virginia, in conjunction with the Virginia Festival of the Book. For last year’s event, we welcomed 230 attendees in person, with an additional 200+ joining virtually via live stream. The event will also be available online the following week.
SELC presents the award annually in memory of Phillip D. Reed, a founding trustee of SELC who helped guide our organization through the early years before his untimely death in 1993. A talented attorney committed environmental activist, and editor of the widely read Environmental Law Reporter, Phil was known for his ebullient spirit and inquiring intellect.