Bestselling writer Bill Bryson and his landscape crusade
Best selling author Bill Bryson’s internationally applauded for his funny tales of travel, science and the English language. But now the 65 year old's earned himself another distinction, being made an Honorary Fellow of the Landscape Institute in the United Kingdom.
Writer Bill Bryson OBE- and now an Honorary Fellow of the Landscape Institute in the UK
Born in America, Bryson’s made England his home (his wife Cynthia is English), and it’s his dedication to preserving the British countryside that’s brought him his most recent honour.
“Aside from being one of the great chroniclers of British life and culture, Bill Bryson has, for many years, been a true champion of landscape,” attendees at the Landscape Institute Awards in London were told.
“Through his campaigning, including the vital work he has undertaken with the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Bill has drawn public and political attention to the importance of sustainability in both rural and urban environments.
“Bill’s passion for these projects is truly infectious and has helped inspire and educate others about these deeply important issues.
“But we also honour Bill for the way his words capture the effect of our landscape and built environment on us. Whether it’s indignation at the badly planned, or wondrous awe at the beautifully made – or perfectly conserved – his writing effortlessly reminds us of the effects of our environment and how they contribute to our sense of place and wellbeing.”
Between 2003 and 2007, Bryson sat on the board of directors of English Heritage. He was president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England from 2007 to 2012, and received an honorary OBE in 2006.
Bryson’s books have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 30 languages. His science book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Royal Society’s 2004 Aventis Prize and the European Union’s highest literary award, the Descartes Prize.