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Melanie Challenger

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Melanie Challenger
EducationExeter College, Oxford.
Occupation(s)Writer, researcher and broadcaster.
Websitehttps://www.melaniechallenger.com/

Melanie Challenger is a writer, researcher and broadcaster on environmental history and philosophy of science, Deputy Co-Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics,[1] and a Vice President of the RSPCA,[2] UK. She wrote How to Be Animal: What it Means to Be Human[3] (2021).

Her first non-fiction book On Extinction: How We Became Estranged from Nature was published in 2011.[4] It was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best non-fiction books of 2012[5] and received the Santa Barbara Library's Green Award for environmental writing.

She is a member of CEP,[6] a new global collective of environmental philosophers and a founding member of the Animals in the Room[7] project, involved in devising new models for representing the interests of non-human animals in decisions critical to their lives.

Early work

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Challenger began her career in the arts, writing poetry and libretti. She has published two collections of poetry, Galatea, which won an Eric Gregory Award for poetry in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection,[8] and a second collection, The Tender Map was published in 2017.[9]

In 2003, she adapted the Anne Frank diaries for a choral work by James Whitbourn.[10][11] As the librettist for British composer Mark Simpson,[12] she provided the text for his oratorio, The Immortal,[13] which won the 2016 South Bank Sky Arts Award for classical music[14] and received its London premiere at the 2017 BBC Proms under Juanjo Mena.[15] Their first opera together, Pleasure, was co-commissioned by Royal Opera House, Opera North and Aldeburgh Music.[16]

Publications

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  • Melanie Challenger (2011). On Extinction: How We Became Estranged from Nature. Counterpoint. ISBN 978-1619020184.[4]
  • Melanie Challenger (2021). How to be Animal. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780143134350.[3]
  • Various authors (2023). Melanie Challenger (ed.). Animal Dignity: Philosophical Reflections on Non-Human Existence. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1350331679.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Nuffield Council appoints new members". The Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  2. ^ "Melanie Challenger | High profile supporter | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk". RSPCA. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. ^ a b Kelly, Stuart (17 Feb 2021). "Book review - How to be Animal". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  4. ^ a b Laing, Olivia (2011-10-01). "On Extinction: How We Became Estranged from Nature by Melanie Challenger – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  5. ^ "Best Books of 2012". Publishers Weekly.
  6. ^ "Our Members – CEP – Consortium of Environmental Philosophers". Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  7. ^ "Animals in the Room – A New Approach to Compassion". Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  8. ^ "Forward 2007 | Special Reports | guardian.co.uk Books". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  9. ^ "The Tender Map from Guillemot Press Wins the Prestigious Michael Marks Award". Falmouth University English & Creative Writing. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  10. ^ "James Whitbourn". www.classical-music.com. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  11. ^ Pritchard, Stephen (2024-03-26). "James Whitbourn obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  12. ^ Simpson, Mark (2016-04-28). "Welcome to the Pleasuredome… Mark Simpson's opera debut". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  13. ^ Hickling, Alfred (2015-07-05). "The Immortal/Mark Simpson review – a blazingly original oratorio". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  14. ^ Jones, Catherine (6 June 2016). "Liverpool composer Mark Simpson wins a prestigious Sky Arts Award". The Liverpool Echo.
  15. ^ "BBC Proms". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  16. ^ Hickling, Alfred (2016-04-29). "Pleasure review – Lesley Garrett shines as the lady of the loo". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  17. ^ Gregory Tague (April 2024). "Animal Dignity: Philosophical Reflections on Non-Human Existence". Leonardo (book reviews).

General references

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