Ret Talbot is an award-winning independent journalist, science writer and author who frequently covers issues at the intersection of science and sustainability. He has worked as a fulltime freelance writer since 2007, and his nonfiction work can be found in publications such as as Discover Magazine, National Geographic, Mongabay, Ocean Geographic, and Yale Environment 360. His short stories and essays have been published in a variety of magazines and journals, and his screenplay about the Spanish Civil War was featured in The Hummingbird Review.
His most recent book is Chasing Shadows: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Great White Shark written with shark biologist Greg Skomal about the resurgence in the white shark population in the western North Atlantic. He is also the author of Banggai Cardinalfish, where he reported from Sulawesi, Indonesia, as an embedded journalist with a scientific expedition studying a rare coral reef fish. In 2024, he wrote the introduction to the anthology North Woods at Night: Literary Reflections on Maine’s Largest Forest, and in 2023 he won the nonfiction award for his essay “Of Wolves and Sharks” in Rivers of Ink: Literary Reflections on the Penobscot. He frequently guest lectures at both the secondary school and college levels about his own work and the craft of writing narrative nonfiction.
In addition to ASJA, he is a member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASWA), the Author’s Guild, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (ASJA), and the Maine Press Association. Talbot is a graduate of the creative writing program at Wheaton College (MA), and he holds an advance degree in writing from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). Talbot lives on a wee farm in Midcoast Maine with his wife, scientific illustrator Karen Talbot.
Subjects
Skills
As author, unless indicated otherwise.
Chasing Shadows is a book about the resurgence of the white shark population in the western North Atlantic told through the eyes of shark biologist Greg Skomal. At its heart, it is a too-rare conservation success story about restoring an apex predator to an ecosystem.
A widely celebrated test believed to be able to determine if tropical marine aquarium fish were caught illegally using cyanide may be based on problematic data, a new study says.
Maine's first fatal shark attack on record is further evidence of their comeback. It's both a conservation success and a public safety concern—though attacks remain extremely rare.
"Of Wolves and Sharks" was the winning noinfiction essay from the anthology titled Rivers of Ink: Literary Reflections on the Penobscot.
It may be a dirty job, but this nonprofit group of volunteers is collecting scat to try to prove there are wolves in Maine.
Introduction to North Woods at Night, a rich anthology of 38 Maine writers reflecting on the magic and mystery of the state’s largest forest. Through poems, stories, and essays, this collection brings to life nighttime camping adventures, encounters with creatures, and the peace found in nature. Whether it’s humorous anecdotes of outhouse trips or soul-searching moments beneath the stars, the anthology captures the transformative power of Maine’s wild.
A scientific team travels to Sulawesi (Indonesia) to investigate a mysterious virus affecting a coral reef fish that is popular in the aquarium trade.
As oceans warm, coral reefs are suffering not only from bleaching but from deadly outbreaks of disease. Researchers are developing remedies, but the key question is whether these solutions can work on a large-enough scale to save vast reef systems from Florida to Australia.
