Diane Ackerman is a poet, essayist and naturalist who has spent her career at the intersection of science and literature, and is widely regarded as one of the writers who invented literary popular science as a genre. Her books - among them A Natural History of the Senses, The Zookeeper's Wife and The Human Age - have sold millions of copies worldwide, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, and been adapted for PBS and cinema. In 2022, she received the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to bridging the arts and sciences; previous winners include Neil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Eno.