Whitley Awards 2022: Celebrating Australasian zoological literature

Each year, the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales presents the Whitley Awards, recognising outstanding publications that help increase our understanding of Australasian wildlife. The awards are named in tribute to Gilbert Whitley, an eminent ichthyologist and former Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum.

We are delighted to announce that in 2022, our book Australian Deserts: Ecology and Landscapes has been awarded the prestigious Whitley Medal.

Steve Morton brings his extensive first-hand knowledge and experience of arid Australia to describe the ecology of Australian deserts and how desert-dwelling plants and animals succeed. The book is also richly illustrated with stunning photographs by Mike Gillam.

“Winning the Whitley Medal is a most satisfying confirmation that my objectives in writing the book have been achieved,” shares Steve.

“I wanted to distil the extensive body of research on Australian deserts in such a way that any interested reader could gain access to decades of scientific insights. At the same time, I wanted to celebrate the dry country, a vast region not always at the forefront of thinking in our society, and to honour its toughness and beauty in words and through Mike Gillam’s stunning photographs. I suppose I wrote the book that I wished to have access to as a young scientist, when I was starting out. So I take the award as a sign of progress towards these aims.”

Steve at Alcoota Fossil Reserve, north-east of Alice Springs. (Photo: author supplied)

Photographer Mike Gillam helping with a community display in Alice Springs. (Photo: author supplied)

We would also like to congratulate Professor Stephen Garnett, who was awarded a Special Commendation for a lifetime contribution to zoological publications.

Certificates of Commendation

In addition to the Whitley Medal, the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales also bestows a selection of Certificates of Commendation to recognise outstanding publications that profile Australasian wildlife across the broad range of titles that are nominated.

We are delighted that the following CSIRO Publishing titles were awarded Commendation Certificates in 2022:

You can view the full list of Whitley Awards winning books on the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales website.

CSIRO Publishing would like to congratulate all our winning authors, as well as the authors and publishers of the other outstanding books recognised in the 2022 Whitley Awards.