Robert Vennell is an ecologist and best-selling natural history author. His first book, The Meaning of Trees, was listed as one of the best non-fiction books of 2019 and was longlisted for an Ockham New Zealand Book Award. His second book, Secrets of the Sea, was selected as a finalist in the illustrated non-fiction category of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2023. His latest – The Forgotten Forest – explores the hidden world of mushrooms, mosses and moulds and was released on October 5th.

Robert works as a curator in the Natural Science department at Auckland Museum.