SLCL Presents Acclaimed Science Writer Jennifer Ackerman on “What an Owl Knows”

St. Louis County Library Foundation’s Favorite Author Series and Left Bank Books present bestselling science and nature writer Jennifer Ackerman for a discussion and signing of “”What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Elusive Bird.” The event will take place on Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Clark Family Branch, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131. Presented in partnership with the St. Louis Audubon Society.

The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase at the event from Left Bank Books. 

Bestselling science and nature author Jennifer Ackerman presents a brilliant scientific investigation into owls—the most elusive of birds—and why they exert such a hold on human imagination

With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Some two hundred sixty species of owls exist today, and they reside on every continent except Antarctica, but they are far more difficult to find and study than other birds because they are cryptic, camouflaged, and mostly active at night. Though human fascination with owls goes back centuries, scientists have only recently begun to understand the complex nature of these extraordinary birds.
 
In “What an Owl Knows,” Jennifer Ackerman joins scientists in the field and explores how researchers are using modern technology to learn how owls communicate, hunt, court, mate, raise their young, and move about from season to season. Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations; the result is an awe-inspiring exploration of owls across the globe and through human history.

Jennifer Ackerman has been writing about science and nature for almost three decades. Her previous books include: “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, and “The Genius of Birds,” a New York Times bestseller and best Book of the Year for the Wall Street Journal and NPR’s “Science Friday.”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.

Program sites are accessible. With at least two weeks' notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Call 314-994-3300 or contact us.