The authors

Over one hundred authors including many well known writers such as Isabel Allende, Andre DeCarlo and Rex Weyler have pledged their support for Greenpeace's Book Campaign.

Read what some our authors have to say about Ancient Forests and Ancient Forest Friendly Books:

Isabel Allende

Each time I finish a novel I experience the joy of seeing it in print mixed with the anguish of knowing that trees have died to bring the book to life. Since childhood I have had a vital connection with trees. I believe that these mute giants have a soul, they preserve the balance of nature and the memory of the planet. The publishing industry consumes paper avidly, paper which is produced using pulp manufactured with virgin wood as opposed to recycled fibre. Part of the wood used to print books comes from regions where the Primary Forests are being destroyed. This represents an irreparable loss for the world. The disappearance of these forests will endanger biodiversity, which is indispensable for guaranteeing the strength of all living species and the cultural riches of the indigenous peoples who inhabit these regions.

I join with other writers in urging the publishing industry not to act as an accomplice in the destruction of the Primary Forests and to employ environmental and social criteria when purchasing paper. This is not an irrational request, on the contrary, a paper supply policy that respects the environment is of benefit to us all. Some publishers have understood this and I believe we will soon see more and more books of excellent quality printed on authorised or recycled paper, as is the case with my novel for young readers "Forest of the Pygmies". I therefore lend my enthusiastic support to the Greenpeace's Book Project and hereby express the hope that my future work is published using the same ecological criteria.

- Isabel Allende

Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood "We would never buy paper made from dead bears, otter, salmon and birds, from ruined native cultures, from destroyed species and destroyed lives, from ancient forests reduced to stumps and mud; but that's what we're buying when we buy paper made from old-growth clear-cut trees". - Margaret Atwood

Rex Weyler

Raincoast Books in Canada, and Rodale Press in the US and UK made the commitment to publish GREENPEACE worldwide on 100%, post-consumer, chlorine-free, ancient forest friendly, recycled paper. This decision cost them money in the short term, but has already gained them recognition as companies willing to do right for the entire planet. This commitment is important because ancient forests help regulate global temperatures, clean the atmosphere, recycle water, and provide habitat for millions of species. By turning waste into useful products, we are learning to operate our economy the way nature operates. These may be the first steps of a truly ecological, sustainable human civilization.

- Rex Weyler

Andrea DeCarlo

My battle for nature

Try to visualize an ancient forest. Not one of our small sparse woods where the trees are felled and made to grow again who knows how many times. Imagine a real, natural forest, with all its infinite variety of visible and invisible life: plants, flowers, fruits, mammals, birds, insects, micro-organisms. Try to imagine the colours, the sounds, the smells, the water dripping from leaf to leaf which is absorbed and held by the roots under the thin layer of humus.

The temple of life

One of the reactions that people can have towards what's happening is to think that nothing can be done about it. It's not true. Every single person can help to change things in his or her own field. I, for example, am a writer. Yet until recently I had never asked myself where the paper my books are printed on comes from, and at what price. I didn't know that 71% of the supplies of virgin fibres used to produce paper for the publishing industry comes from forest destruction.

From words to facts

I was unaware that the Italian publishing industry imports 25,500 tons a year. I didn't know that more than half of the virgin fibres supplied by certain countries, like Russia and Indonesia, comes from illegal tree felling. When Greenpeace asked authors the world over to take action on behalf of the forests, my immediate thought was that endorsing the campaign was a noble thing to do, but that it wasn't enough, that really concrete action was needed. I decided that from then on my books would be published without causing a single tree to be destroyed. I found a publisher, Bompiani, who accepted the challenge and looked for a solution together with me. Giro di vento is my first novel printed on entirely recycled paper. Even the printers are enthusiastic about it and are increasingly convinced that this is the start of a new way of doing things.

Personally I will do everything I can to convince those among my fellow authors. Because in the time you have spent reading this who knows how many more hectares of virgin forest have been destroyed. Try to calculate it, and then try to visualize life without our forests, forever.

- Andrea De Carlo