Judges
Note: do not contact the judges with contest queries.
Below are the faculty judges who make this competition possible. Out of dedication to the proliferation of Climate Writers and expansion of climate writing, these judges generously volunteer their time to read through submissions and contribute to the existence of this program.
Martin Puchner
Martin Puchner is the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University. His prize-winning books and anthologies range from philosophy to the arts. His best-selling Norton Anthology of World Literature and his HarvardX online course have brought 4000 years of literature to students across the globe. His new book, Literature for a Changing Planet, draws lessons from world literature for addressing climate change. He is a member of the European Academy and has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Cullman Fellowship, the Berlin Prize, and the Massachusetts Book Award.
Karen Thornber
Karen Thornber is Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature and Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, where she has served in many leadership positions. Recipient of numerous international awards and working in more than a dozen modern and classical Asian and European languages, Professor Thornber has published extensively in a broad range of fields. Her second major scholarly monograph, the 700-page multiple prize-winning Ecoambiguity (2012) discusses writings from the Epic of Gilgamesh (2500 BCE) through contemporary East Asian narratives. More recent books include Global Indigeneities and the Environment (co-edited, 2016); Global Healing (700 pp., 2020); Gender Justice (350 pp., expected publication 2023); and Narrating (Environ)mental Distress (expected publication 2025).
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Eliza Holmes
Eliza Holmes received her PhD in English from Harvard and her BA from Bard College. Her book project explores the ways that agricultural labor, and land rights, shaped nineteenth-century British and American literature. She has published on topics ranging from John Clare’s poetry to the TV show PEN15. She also holds a certificate of training in small farming from The Farm School.
Previous Judges Include
2022
Ali Glassie
Former Postdoctoral Fellow at the Mahindra Humanities Center
Marshall Engell
Gurney Professor of English and Professor of Comparative Literature
Martin Puchner
Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature