Kings of Their Own Ocean
KINGS OF THEIR OWN OCEAN:
TUNA, OBSESSION, AND THE FUTURE OF OUR SEAS
Karen Pinchin
Dutton, July 18, 2023
Hardback $30, Kindle $15.99, audiobook $5.95
ISBN-10: 0593471474, ISBN-13: 978-0593471470
Kindle ASIN: B0BJPC96CM, audiobook ASIN: B0BL8WWXQ1
Pinchin reports:
I never planned to write a book about a fish. But that was before I heard about Amelia, a giant female bluefin tuna killed off Portugal’s southern coast in 2018, whose existence encapsulated so many pressing issues and struggles in our own complex world.
Before Amelia's death — she was killed by a scuba diver wielding a lupara, an exploding cartridge attached to a long pole — she had been marked by humans twice. The first time, in 2004, an obsessive Rhode Island fisherman named Capt. Al Anderson lodged a plastic tag in her back. The second time, in 2007, scientist Molly Lutcavage used a high-tech pop-up satellite tag.
Karen Pinchin
Photo by Darren Calabrese
I first discovered Amelia via a call from Lutcavage: she was ecstatic, while I was mostly confused. But as I learned more about Anderson, who reminded me of my own mercurial father, their entwined stories felt undeniable.
My publishing experience was very lucky! I took Prof. Sam Freedman’s book-writing class at Columbia University while earning a Master's degree in science journalism, and eventually won the Lynton Award for my book proposal. That led to my signing with my incredible agent, Mackenzie Brady Watson.
Logistically, I doubled up reporting in Japan while working on my graduate thesis on American eel and poked away at my proposal while working at PBS FRONTLINE before and during the pandemic. I travelled widely for reporting and had the book fact-checked thanks to generous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Sloan Foundation. My wonderful writing group came out of my time at Columbia, and I recommend aspiring writers of non-fiction fight to find their community. Writing a book is hard, lonely and alienating, but mine has also been the culmination of a dream. Both are true!
After COVID hit, my family ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a few hours from where U.S. fishermen flocked during the giant gamefish craze of the 1930s. The chapter inspired by that period is one of my favorites, and is a good lesson to trust yourself and the process.
Contact info:
- Karen Pinchin, kap2216@columbia.edu, https://www.karenpinchin.com/
- Book: Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession and the Future of Our Seas
- Publicist: Emily Canders, ecanders@penguinrandomhouse.com
- Agent: Mackenzie Brady Watson, mbw@skagency.com
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Banner image adapted from original photo by Karen Pinchin.
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