I'm still re-acclimating to New Jersey (I think northern Utah suits me better) so blogging has been a little slow. I have a spate of book reviews and other posts in the works, but for the moment I wanted to ask my remaining readership a question. Who are your favorite science writers working today and why? (I have no doubt Carl Zimmer will be a top choice.) Additionally, are there any up-and-coming science writers you think the rest of us should be watching? (My pick would be Ed Yong for this one.) Have at it in the comments.
[And many thanks to T. Ryan Gregory for placing me on a list of "Good Science Writers." I don't think I deserve the honor, but I certainly appreciate the praise.]
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Zimmer, definitely. Also Darren Naish, Christopher Taylor, Paul Gilster at Centauri Dreams, PZ Myers and you!
Bah -- you belong on the list as much as any of 'em. If you're going to be a good science writer, you're going to have to get used to accepting compliments.
Zimmer, Naish, PZ when he writes about science, some kid named Switek, Hawks, TR Gregory, Jennifer Ouellette
You are not 'up-and-coming'. You have been on Sb for quite a while, have a lot of readers, probably a lot of traffic, and are writing a book. I would add, to the list that includes you and Ed Yong already mentioned above, a couple of other Sciblings: Mo Costandi and SciCurious. I would also keep an eye on http://www.elsakristen.com/ for perfection and accuracy and http://sciencetrio.wordpress.com/about/ for really nice writing.
darn - two URLs and off to spam the comment goes...
John Hawks and Carl Zimmer.
Yet another vote for Carl Zimmer, but I'd also like to add Natalie Angier (although her propensity for purple prose can periodically perplex), Richard Dawkins, and Ethan Siegel of "Starts with a bang" (his explanations are amazingly clear and enlightening)
I agree with all so far, but want to add Robert Sapolsky and V.S. Ramachandran. Both are scientists, but also excellent science writers.
Jared Diamond deserves a mention
From the medical side of science: Ben Goldacre
Elizabeth Kolbert, "Field Notes from a Catastrophe"
Carl Zimmer, John Hawks, PZ Myers, Darren Naish, Christopher Taylor, Ed Yong, some bloke named Switek, and I'd like to add two more: Scott Weidensaul and David Quammen
Lots of good writers have already been named; on the physical-science side, I'd suggest Sean "the other one" Carroll and Phil Plait.
Also, of Sciblings, Eric Michael Johnson.
Bloggers, in addition to those already named: Vaughan Bell, Frank Swain, Martin Robbins, Christie Wilcox, Steven Novella, Dave Munger.
Others: EO Wilson (I'm always surprised he gets left out of lists like this - his prose is just beautiful), David Attenborough, Mark Henderson, Olivia Judson.
Oh hell, there are LOADS. I'm not even scratching the surface.
I tip my hat to Brian and Ryan for doing this. Ryan's sentiments about trying to highlight the positive side of the field are ones I second.
Many more authors of books could be added, e.g. Oliver Sacks, Simon Singh, Steve Jones, John Gribbins, Janet Browne (more of a biographer really), etc., etc. (I'll spare readers a dozen-odd more.)
For blogs, check out Mystery Rays from Outer Space (which isn't a bizarre blog as the name might imply) and Neurophilosophy and see if they pass your standards. The former might be a bit "advanced" for those without a little basic background.
Jonah Lehrer for the cognitive neurosciences.
For young and upcoming I vote for Kate at climatesight_dot_org. Tamino at Open Mind (another worthwhile climate blog devoid of antiscience) linked to her a while back. Apparently she's not even of voting age yet her prose is that of someone much older and wiser. Her latest post is on what the blog is all about. That's a good introduction if you haven't checked her blog before.
There are so many though and more on the way. I can hardly keep up with the established writers.