Amorina Kingdon
Amorina Kingdon
Science Writer
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ABOUT ME

I’m a writer in Victoria, British Columbia.

At the moment, I’m working on a book about the role of sound in the lives of animals under water, which will be published by Crown.

Until 2021 I was the staff writer for Hakai Magazine. My work at Hakai has been anthologized in Best Canadian Essays 2020 (Biblioasis) and received honours including a Digital Publishing Award, a Jack Webster Award, and Best New Magazine Writer from the National Magazine Awards. Previously I was a science writer for the University of Victoria and the Science Media Center of Canada.

You can read my fiction in PRISM Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, and forthcoming in Speculative North.

I have a diploma in journalism from Concordia University and a bachelor's degree in biology from Carleton University. I’m represented by Gillian MacKenzie of Gillian MacKenzie Agency.

CV

 Stories about Sound

Featured
The Sound Aquatic
The Sound Aquatic

A podcast about sound under water.

The Baffling Case of The Belugas That Won't Bounce Back
The Baffling Case of The Belugas That Won't Bounce Back

To the human eye, when wild creatures operate so expertly in their environment it seems uncanny. But these belugas are simply doing what they are born to do.

Honey, I Scared the Squids
Honey, I Scared the Squids

When first subjected to the loud hammering of a pile driver—a ram that drives supports into the seabed for construction projects—squid predictably freak out

Belugas' Downward Spiral
Belugas' Downward Spiral

Over the past two decades, the belugas have been getting smaller and skinnier.

Humpback Moms Need a Quiet Place to Nurse
Humpback Moms Need a Quiet Place to Nurse

Let’s just deal with the obvious question: yes, whales have nipples.

Porpoises Flee From Noise Pollution
Porpoises Flee From Noise Pollution

Artificial noise disrupts whales’ ability to communicate through sound, affecting their feeding and navigation.

Ocean Racket Makes for Rascally Wrasses
Ocean Racket Makes for Rascally Wrasses

Cheaters never prosper, unless there’s a motorboat buzzing by.

Listen to How Loud the Sea Is
Listen to How Loud the Sea Is

Especially loud are the sounds of cavitation, which occurs when the bubbles formed by a vessel’s fast-moving propeller pop.

Journalism 

Featured
Flying by the Fat of the Sea
Flying by the Fat of the Sea

The driftwood yields to muck that sucks at our heels, then to shockingly green eelgrass swirling in pockets of seawater, and finally to bare mud that slips threateningly beneath the soles of my unfamiliar hip waders.

The Sound Aquatic
The Sound Aquatic

A podcast about sound under water.

From Berth To Death
From Berth To Death

Ship doctors sent a few patients back to shore, but the war was more urgent than a coughing fit or a fever, and the crew set off as planned.

The Questionable Science of Vancouver's Port Expansion
The Questionable Science of Vancouver's Port Expansion

The port is just barely audible in the distance. It sounds just like a subway train that’s still a few stops down the tunnel.

Awards

FLYING BY THE FAT OF THE SEA

Winner, Gold, Best Investigative Article (Consumer), Canadian Online Publishing Awards, 2021

The Sound Aquatic

Winner (with Elin Kelsey and Katrina Pyne), Silver, Best Podcast Series, Canadian Online Publishing Awards, 2021

From Berth To Death

Winner (with Andrew Nikiforuk), Jack Webster Award for Science, Technology, Health, and the Environment, Jack Webster Awards, 2020
Published in Best Canadian Essays 2020 (Biblioasis)


The Questionable Science Of Vancouver’s Port Expansion

Winner, Best New Magazine Writer, National Magazine Awards, 2017
Finalist (with Daniel Wood), Jack Webster Award for Science, Technology, Health, and the Environment, Jack Webster Awards, 2017

“Amorina Kingdon has written a forceful political expose that balances local concerns with big-picture thinking in a voice that's candid, lyrical, and respectful. 'Questionable Science' is what great journalism is all about: a strong narrative combined with impeccable research to challenge its readers to think differently.”

— National Magazine Awards Jury


Here Be Tiny Dragons (And Other Micro Beasts)

(With Grant Callegari, Adrienne Mason, and Meigan Henry) Best Online Video Feature, Digital Publishing Awards, 2018