Science on Ice shortlisted for the 2013 Science Book Prize

Media Release
Auckland University Press
3 April 2013

SCIENCE ON ICE shortlisted for the 2013 Science Book Prize

Science on Ice: Discovering the Secrets of Antarctica by Veronika Meduna (Auckland University Press) is one of the three finalists for the 2013 Royal Society of New Zealand Science Book Prize ($5,000).

The judges were Professor Michael Corballis, The University of Auckland; Professor Shaun Hendy, Victoria University of Wellington and Alison Ballance, Radio New Zealand.

On Science on Ice, the judges commented “Veronika Meduna skilfully weaves together a multitude of stories to present a comprehensively readable account of the wide range of science that takes place in the Antarctic.

“The book explores what research has and is being done, what it's like to work in such a physically challenging environment, and what insights it has given us about the frozen continent itself as well as how it has contributed to our wider understanding of global processes and issues such as climate change.

“Together the text and photos present a compelling case for why both science and Antarctica matter.”

The overall winner of this year’s prize will be announced at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival on Saturday 18 May 2013 following the session ‘Bad Science, Bad Pharma’ by best-selling author and UK medical doctor Ben Goldacre.

The Royal Society of New Zealand, the national science academy, established the biennial prize for popular science books in 2009 to celebrate the very best in this genre. It aims to encourage the writing, publishing and reading of good and accessible popular science books.

--ENDS--

The full shortlist for the 2013 prize is:
1. Graft by Helen Heath (Victoria University Press)
2. Science on Ice: Discovering the Secrets of Antarctica by Veronika Meduna (Auckland University Press)
3. Moa: The Life and Death of New Zealand’s Legendary Bird by Quinn Berentson (Craig Potton Publishing)

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