A book begun by Dom Phillips, a foreign correspondent and Guardian contributor who was killed in the Amazon in June last year while researching the project, will be published in April 2025.
The book, titled How to Save the Amazon: Ask the People Who Know, is being completed by writers and environmentalists. On Wednesday, the authors were awarded a Whiting creative nonfiction grant, marking the first time the $40,000 (£32,000) award has been given to a collaborative project.
The judges of the Whiting foundation grant said that Phillips’ reporting on “ecological depredations in the Amazon, completed before his murder in the field, demonstrates impressive levels of access and a deep moral curiosity.
“It’s rare to encounter travel writing that truly shows the reader something they haven’t seen before; the sense of discovery – and, inevitably, peril – is palpable,” they added.
Phillips was murdered alongside Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian Indigenous expert, who prosecutors said was targeted for helping Indigenous activists defend land from illegal fishing and mining gangs. In October, a judge ruled that three fishermen accused of murdering the pair would face trial by jury.
Earlier this year, Phillips’ family, friends and colleagues announced plans for his work to be completed, contingent on receiving funding for reporting trips to the Amazon. More than £24,000 was raised via an online fundraiser.
The book will be published by Manilla Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, and will celebrate the Amazon’s diversity and explore solutions for conserving its ecosystem by drawing on the voices of those who live there.
Those involved in completing the work include Jonathan Watts, the Guardian’s global environment editor, Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent for the Guardian, Kátia Brasil, the founder of Amazônia Real, and Andrew Fishman, president and co-founder of the Intercept Brasil.
“We were thrilled to acquire Dom’s book and received dispatches from the Amazon as and when he could write them, and we could see the important book this was shaping up to be – immersing us in this incredible landscape, highlighting to us the work done by the peoples who live there, offering us new ways in which we can help restore this vital ecosystem,” said Justine Taylor, editorial manager at Bonnier.
“It was such a shock to learn of Dom and Bruno’s deaths – and an immeasurable loss for their families – but we are so glad and proud that Dom’s work will be continued by Jonathan Watts and his team of contributors.”
