Cherie Winner grew up roaming meadows and woods in Utah, Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio, often bringing salamanders and snakes home to her delighted parents. Science writing was on the wall early on: For her fifth birthday she wanted a microscope (which she still has), and a year later she asked to use her father’s typewriter (which he agreed to on condition that she learn how to do more than hunt and peck).
Despite those early signs, it took her a while to realize that she didn’t have to choose between journalism and science. She earned a Ph.D. in zoology at Ohio State and taught developmental biology at Miami University (Ohio), where a summer class on feature writing led to her first magazine story and first children’s book, both on salamanders. Within a few years she had moved to Wyoming and was writing about nature and science fulltime (when she wasn't flyfishing or cross-country skiing). She has written 22 books for children, on subjects ranging from the ecology of Alaska’s North Slope to the history of blood transfusion, and was science writer for Washington State Magazine for four years before coming to Oceanus in 2009.
Her writing projects have put her on a snowmobile, tracking cougars through the woods of northeastern Washington; on the banks of the Platte River, thrilling to the sight and sound of thousands of sandhill cranes returning to their nighttime roost; and on the back of a Bactrian (2-hump) camel. In fall 2011 she took her first oceanographic research cruise, a Dive & Discover expedition to the Mediterranean.
She likes to read, hike, garden, play Celtic harp, watch movies and live theater, and try to keep up with her dogs Harper and Guthrie and cat Pico.
Posted: November 5, 2009 [top] |
