Quarterly Essay 45
Us & Them: On the Importance of Animals

For the first time in history, humans sit unchallenged at the top of the food chain. As we encroach on the wild and a vast wave of extinctions gathers force, how has our relationship with animals changed?

In this dazzling essay, Anna Krien investigates the world we have made and the complexity of the choices we face. From pets to the live cattle trade, from apex predators to scientific experiments, Krien shows how we should – and do – treat our fellow creatures. As she delves deeper, she finds that animals can trigger primal emotions in us, which we are often unwilling to acknowledge. This is a clear-eyed meditation on humanity and animality, us and them, that brings out the importance of animals in an unforgettable way.

“I am not weighing up whether our treatment of animals is just, because it isn’t. That age-old debate is a farce – deep down we all know it. The real question is, just how much of this injustice are we prepared to live with?” — Anna Krien, Us & Them

Published March 2012

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Into the Woods: The Battle for Tasmania’s Forests

“Anna Krien’s intimate, urgent book pulsates with life and truth.” — Chloe Hooper

A powerful and intrepid journey behind the scenes of Tasmania’s forest wars.

For decades, the Tasmanian wilderness has been the site of bitter struggle. Sawmillers and police face off with protesters deep in the forest, while political games are played in the courts and parliaments. At stake is the future of old-growth forests, of the logging industry – and of the people on both sides, deeply divided by years of suspicion.

In Into the Woods, Anna Krien brings to life this protracted conflict. Armed with a notebook, a sleeping bag and a rusty sedan, she ventures behind the fiercely drawn battlelines. She interviews key players in the debate, including Bob Brown and Paul Lennon, speaks to ferals, loggers and whistle-blowers, and asks challenging questions about their motives and methods.

Brave and revealing, Into the Woods is a dramatic work of reporting by a bold new voice, a journey deep into the heart of Australia’s most perplexing state.

Awards

Won the 2011 ‘Harry Williams’ QLD Premier’s Literary Awards

Won the 2011 ‘People’s Choice’ VIC Premier’s Literary Awards

Shortlisted in the 2011 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards

Shortlisted in the 2011 WA Premier’s Literary Awards

Shortlisted in the 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards

Shortlisted in the 2012 Blake Dawson Business Award

Published September 2010