Photo Courtesy of Steven M. Hollow Michele C. Hollow writes about Mary Anning, who has been called the first female fossil hunter.
Michele C. Hollow writes about Mary Anning, who has been called the first female fossil hunter.
Michele C. Hollow always knew she wanted to be a writer.
A South Orange resident for 30 years, she grew up in the Bronx and became interested in reading because of her dad.
“Books were really important to him,” she said. “When we were little, if it was your birthday, you got a book.”
She went to City University of New York and freelanced for different newspapers doing theater reviews. She then got an offer to work in Louisiana on a daily paper.
“I covered police beat, school board, basic stuff,” she said.
When she returned to New York she wrote about design for a few years and then thought it would be cool to freelance. She focused on health, mental health, aging, climate, pets, wildlife, and people who do extraordinary things.
After living in Queens and Manhattan, she and her husband decided to move to South Orange to have a kid.
“I really love South Orange and Maplewood,” she said. “There’s lots of parks, the museums. There’s lots to do. I’m three blocks from the train in case I get homesick.”
She continued writing and her byline has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Next Avenue, and The Animal Mind to name a few. She co-wrote a few Minecraft joke books with her son, a book on The Grateful Dead, and a book on careers you can have with animals.
Her most recent book, “Jurassic Girl: The Adventures of Mary Anning, Paleontologist and the First Female Fossil Hunter” was published by Ulysses Press last September. It’s a historical fiction chapter book that reimagines the pivotal moment that launched Mary Anning’s groundbreaking scientific career: the discovery of the first ichthyosaurus.
Hollow explained that in 1811 Mary Anning lived in a small town on the Jurassic coast in the south of England. She found a 17-foot fossil at a time when fossil hunting was starting to become popular.
“A lot of people thought she found an alligator,” Hollow said. “It’s part fish, part lizard, buried in a cliff. She used to go out every day, fossil hunting. She sold the fossils to help her family put food on the table.”
What got Hollow interested in the story was that while it was Mary Anning who made the discovery, because she was female, someone else got the credit for it.
“When I give talks in elementary schools, they get it,” said Hollow. “Mary fought to be recognized. She’s known today as the Mother of Paleontology.
After this discovery she did other things. I wanted to focus on that period of her life. I thought that was amazing—she did something like this. Being at the seashore with huge cliffs. Back then women wore long skirts and bonnets. It wasn’t ideal for climbing. It was hard. She persisted. Extinction was a brand-new term back then. They didn’t believe a god would create a species that died out. Not everybody believed that.”
While writing Jurassic Girl, Hollow contacted the Lyme Regis Museum. They have a Mary Anning wing. “The researchers answered all my questions,”
said Hollow.
For writing books, Hollow says she really loves doing research. It’s her favorite part of her career when writing books.
When Hollow isn’t writing, she likes to take walks and enjoys the birdfeeder in her back yard.
To learn more about Michele Hollow visit: MicheleCHollow.com.
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