New book deal for Gates Cambridge Scholar

  • July 20, 2024
New book deal for Gates Cambridge Scholar

Stephen Lezak has just signed a deal to write a book on Indigenous climate justice, based on his PhD.

A Gates Cambridge Scholar has signed a deal to write a book on Indigenous climate justice.

The Longest Night will be published by Atria Books, part of Simon & Schuster, and was selected as the deal of the day by Publishers Marketplace earlier this week.

Described as “a stunning exploration of the High North and of its Indigenous communities who are already living in the future, those for whom climate change isn’t speculation, and for whom not surviving was never an option”, it is based on Stephen’s research in Alaskan Native Village in partnership with the Tribal Councils of the Native Villages of Gambell and Shaktoolik. It proposes alternatives to current Western anxieties about climate apocalypse.

The book is based on Stephen’s PhD research in Polar Studies which focused on Indigenous communities in the Arctic, the world’s fastest-warming region.

Stephen [2019] is a prolific writer and his essays, reporting and research have appeared in several academic journals and edited books as well as The New York Times, The New Republic, Emergence, Grist, The Independent, Alaska Public Media, High Country News, Colorado Public Radio, and The Arizona Republic. His research has been covered by The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Al Jazeera, The Times (UK), and translated into Spanish, Arabic, Mongolian, Icelandic and Indonesian.

Stephen, who currently splits his time between the universities of Cambridge and Oxford – where he is Programme Manager for the Oxford Programme on the Sustainable Future of Capital – Intensive Industries – served as an expert reviewer for the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report and has advised two US Presidential campaigns on climate policy.

Latest News

The plight of the bumblebee

Insects are in decline globally, and pollinator loss is of particular concern. It is said that one in three bites of food we eat is thanks to pollination by bees, underlining the importance of these buzzing creatures. In a time of changing landscapes and politics, bees find themselves in trouble. Meadows are being paved into […]

Arts impact: Gates Cambridge at 25

Gates Cambridge Scholars work in every corner of the cultural industries, contributing to new ideas in the world of art, to different ways of viewing the role of music in society and different ways of telling stories. Visual arts When it comes to the visual arts, for instance, several Scholars have played an important role […]

New US Scholars selected as part of 2025 cohort

Thirty-five of the most academically outstanding social leaders in the US have been selected to be part of the 2025 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge, marking the Scholarship’s 25th anniversary. The US Scholars-elect, who will take up their awards this October as part of an anniversary cohort of 100 Scholars, are […]

How to get heard in an increasingly noisy world

How do you get your ideas across in an increasingly noisy and divided world? Three Gates Cambridge Scholars discuss their innovative solutions in the second episode of series two of our podcast, So, now what? Jakub Szamalek [2009], Ragnhild Freng Dale [2013] and Cansu Karabiyik [2016] discuss the different ways they have innovated, through video […]