Stewart, Amy

PERSONAL:

Born in TX; married; husband's name Scott. Education: Graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Eureka, CA. Office—P.O. Box 106, Eureka, CA 95502. Agent—(speaking engagements) Jacqueline Green Public Relations, 2515 Astral Dr., Los Angels, CA 90046; fax: 323-512-3090. E-mail—amy@amystewart.com.

CAREER:

Garden writer/columnist, 1995—. Has made guest appearances on television and radio, including National Public Radio, and has lectured at the American Museum of Natural History, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the California Academy of Sciences.

AWARDS, HONORS:

California Horticultural Society's Writer's Award, 2005; National Endowment for the Arts Creative Fellowship, 2006.

WRITINGS:

From the Ground Up: The Story of the First Garden, Algonquin Books (Chapel Hill, NC), 2001.

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, Algonquin Books (Chapel Hill, NC), 2004.

Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers, Algonquin Books (Chapel Hill, NC), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including North Coast Journal, Organic Gardening, Bird Watcher's Digest, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

SIDELIGHTS:

Amy Stewart has been writing about gardening since 1995. Her first full length book, From the Ground Up: The Story of the First Garden, tells about her adventures planting and nurturing her very first garden in Santa Cruz, California, despite living in a rental property close to the beach and noisy boardwalk area. Alice Joyce, in a review for Booklist, called Stewart's effort "a first book filled with promise." Ilse Heidmann, writing in the Library Journal, noted: "Along with a witty description of her mistakes, the author shares her solutions."

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, Stewart's next book, chronicles her experiences raising earthworms on her porch. Worms are a necessary part of the ecosystem, and they help a garden to thrive as they tunnel through the soil, dispersing nutrients and keeping oxygen and water pockets buried deep in the earth that help plants to grow. Not only does Stewart explain the importance of earthworms to the garden, but she shares facts and anecdotes that keep the book light and amusing. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews wrote: "Stewart keeps the information digestible and poses all the questions we might have been afraid to ask," and dubbed the book "an admirable portrait of that tireless ploughman: the earthworm." Writing for Booklist, Nancy Bent stated: "This quirky book will find a niche in all gardening and natural-history collections." Janet Julian, in a review for Kliatt, wrote: "Stewart provides readers with solid research, a chatty narrative style, and personal experiences with earthworms." A reviewer for Science News concluded that the book is "a fascinating look at a truly unsung creature."

In Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers, Stewart takes a look at the international flower industry. The book offers a varied look at the flower business, with Stewart addressing different methods of flower breeding around the world, explains how flowers go from remote greenhouses to retail stores, visits the famous Dutch flower auction, and shares the history and stories of assorted flower varieties along the way. A contributor for Publishers Weekly wrote: "This book is as lush as the flowers it describes." Carol Haggas, in a contribution for Booklist, found that "Stewart combines a romantic's idealism with a journalist's objectivity in this tantalizing exposé." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews remarked that "Stewart writes with humor and insight about real people, entertaining as she informs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Biology Teacher, April, 2002, Helen G. Korlitz, review of From the Ground Up: The Story of the First Garden, p. 312.

Booklist, September 1, 2000, Alice Joyce, review of From the Ground Up, p. 688; October 15, 2003, Nancy Bent, review of The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, p. 366; November 1, 2006, Carol Haggas, review of Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers, p. 12.

Discover, March, 2004, Maia Weinstock, review of The Earth Moved, p. 80.

Entertainment Weekly, February 6, 2004, Nicholas Fonseca, review of The Earth Moved, p. 155.

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2000, review of From the Ground Up, p. 1603; October 1, 2003, review of The Earth Moved, p. 1215; November 1, 2006, review of Flower Confidential, p. 1119.

Kliatt, July, 2005, Janet Julian, review of The Earth Moved, p. 46.

Library Bookwatch, August, 2005, review of The Earth Moved.

Library Journal, February 1, 2001, Ilse Heidmann, review of From the Ground Up, p. 118; November 15, 2003, Denise Hamilton, review of The Earth Moved, p. 95.

Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2006, review of Flowers Confidential, p. 47.

School Library Journal, April, 2004, James O. Cahill, review of The Earth Moved, p. 185; October, 2004, review of The Earth Moved, p. S63.

Science Books & Films, November-December, 2004, review of The Earth Moved, p. 243.

Science News, January 10, 2004, review of The Earth Moved, p. 31; March 12, 2005, review of The Earth Moved, p. 175.

SciTech Book News, March, 2004, review of The Earth Moved, p. 68.

Whole Life Times, April, 2004, Beth Rasch, review of The Earth Moved, p. 63.

ONLINE

Amy Stewart Home Page,http://www.amystewart.com (January 2, 2007).

Garden Rant,http://www.gardenrant.com/ (January 2, 2007), "About Amy."

National Endowment for the Arts Web site,http://www.nea.gov/ (January 2, 2007), author's statement.