Jessica Mann is a multi-award-winning author, conservationist, and naturalist based in Teton Valley, Idaho. A lifelong observer of the natural world, she crafts realistic animal fiction that invites readers to “see” through the eyes of wild birds and animals. Her debut novel, Uplift, reflects her signature blend of emotion, science, and mythology, giving voice to the creatures that inspire her work.Before turning to fiction, Jessica had a 35-year career in conservation and environmental health. She was the founder and CEO of the sustainability consultancy, Green Futures Unlimited, and taught sustainable business at the University of California–San Diego. Prior to that, she served as Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Pfizer, Inc. where she was honored with the prestigious Pfizer Achievement Award.

Jessica holds an MPH from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a BS from its School for Environment and Sustainability. When she’s not writing, she can be found outdoors hiking, camping, or exploring wildlife habitats. This one-on-one interview shares Jessica’s background and experience in writing Uplift: A Novel.

Tell us about Uplift: A Novel.

When her high mountain wilderness is threatened by humans, a rebellious young bird must teach others how to work together to save their common home.

Born high in a spruce tree, Columbina and her brothers grow up listening to ancestral tales through long winters and harvesting pine seeds in summer. But Columbina begins to question her clan's traditions and forms bonds with creatures beyond her species. When she uncovers a looming threat from the mysterious Tall Ones, she must decide how far she'll go to protect her world.

Celebrated for its lyrical prose and profound environmental themes, Uplift explores the bonds and joys of family and friendship, the strength of community, and the impact of environmental change. The novel has earned multiple national awards and acclaim from outlets including Psychology Today, The Nature Conservancy, IBPA, National Indie Excellence Awards, Readers’ Favorite, NYC Big Book Award, Indies Today and more. Complete with original pen-and-ink illustrations by Steve Habersang, Uplift is an inspiring coming-of-age story for teen and adult readers alike. It may just change the way you see birds forever.

What inspired you to write Uplift: A Novel?

My deep love of nature and animals has been a guiding star and source of joy and inspiration in my life. When I began writing my debut novel, I was struck by how often stories about nature—whether literary, eco-, or climate fiction—still had people as narrators or central characters. It made me wonder: why do all stories have to be told from a human point of view?

That question became the spark for Uplift. I wanted to immerse readers inside the minds of birds and other beings, portraying their intelligence, relationships, and challenges with honesty and respect. The novel unfolds entirely through nonhuman perspectives: a Clark’s Nutcracker, several other species of birds, a dragonfly, and even an ancient Whitebark pine tree, with each voice shaped by extensive research and a commitment to seeing the world through their eyes.

At its heart, Uplift is an invitation. I believe a powerful story can inspire empathy, understanding, and a deeper respect for the beings who share our planet. My goal was simple: to give them a voice.

How did your background and experience influence your writing?

My writing is deeply shaped by a lifetime spent in nature and a long career devoted to understanding and protecting it. I grew up in an outdoors-obsessed family, spending summers hiking, camping, and exploring the wild landscapes of the American West. That early immersion in the natural world stayed with me, eventually leading to a 35-year career as an environmental scientist. After retiring, I became a Master Naturalist, which allowed me to study wildlife more intimately and volunteer on conservation projects, experiences that profoundly informed my fiction.

When I finally had the time to write the novel I’d dreamed of since childhood, all of those threads came together. Uplift blends emotion, science, and myth into realistic animal fiction rooted in the behaviors and intelligence of real species. The book launched in 2024 and now forms the foundation of The Habitat Trilogy, an ambitious series exploring life in the air, sea, and on land, through the eyes of the animals who live there.

What is one message you would like readers to remember?

If readers take one message away from Uplift, I hope it’s a renewed sense of hope. I wrote the novel as an antidote to the ecological despair so many of us feel; a reminder that, despite the losses, there is still extraordinary beauty and life worth fighting for.

By allowing readers to “see” the world through the eyes of other species, the book offers a shift in perspective that many have described as eye-opening and transformative. Words I hear often from readers include wonder, inspired, enlightened, a new way of seeing nature.

Knowing the story has helped people reconnect with birds, animals, and the natural world in a more meaningful way is profoundly gratifying. If Uplift leaves readers feeling even a little more protective of the world we share, then it has done exactly what I hoped it would.

Purchasing the Book

Uplift: A Novel has earned acclaim from major literary reviewers, with IBPA praising it as “a remarkable work… a standout novel that deserves to be cherished and shared,” and BlueInk Reviews noting that it “joins Watership Down, The Secret of NIMH, and other stories that use animals to illuminate human concerns… poignant, lyrical, and elegantly written… Mann’s story doesn’t just take flight, it soars.”

Building on its success, Jessica is expanding the world of Uplift into The Habitat Trilogy, an ambitious series exploring life across Earth’s three great realms: air, sea, and land. Uplift, set in the air, is followed by Currents, now in progress and told through the eyes of a family of whales. The trilogy will conclude with Terra, centered on a family of elephants.

Uplift is available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Nook, and other online bookstores. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://www.amazon.com/Uplift-Jessica-Mann/dp/B0DGWSYL68/

To connect with Jessica and learn more about her work, visit: https://jessicamann.org/. You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Author profits from the sale of Uplift are donated to organizations dedicated to protecting birds and nature.

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