Andrew Darby

Andrew Darby (b.1953) is an Australian nature non-fiction author living in the island state of lutruwita/Tasmania. He is interested in natural connections that bind us, and offer lessons from the past as paths for the future.

In an earlier career as a journalist, he closely followed environmental issues involving this island, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean.

His first book, 'Harpoon: Into the heart of whaling' wrote of the great whales and of whaling, concentrating on the now-outlawed Japanese Antarctic 'scientific' hunt. His second book, 'Flight Lines: Across the globe with the astonishing ultramarathon birds' is an investigation of long distance migratory shorebirds. It won the Royal Zoological Society of NSW's Whitley Award, the Tasmanian Premier's Prize for Non-fiction, and was short-listed for the Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

Andrew's new book, 'The Ancients: Discovering the world's oldest surviving trees in wild Tasmania', is being a published in March 2025. His publisher in Australia is Allen & Unwin. Both 'Harpoon' and 'Flight Lines' have also been published in the United States.

He lives in the forested foothills of kunanyi/Mount Wellington and bushwalks for recreation. He and his partner, the gardener Sally Johannsohn, are managed by two Border Collies.