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Rebecca Renner

@rebeccarenner.bsky.social
812 followers 201 following 63 posts

Journalist, Novelist, Floridian 🐊 author of GATOR COUNTRY from Flatiron Books. 🐊 other words in @NatGeo @OutsideMagazine @NYTimes etc; seeking new representation

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Reposted by Rebecca Renner
Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
For @slate.com, I reported on the nostalgia surrounding Pizza Hut's Book It! program 🍕 People shared fond memories of falling in love with reading, what it meant to them as kids in terms of food access, and the glory days of books + personal pan pizzas. Gift link:
slate.com
It Might Be the Best Thing a Corporation Has Ever Done. It’s Finally Back.
Reading may reportedly be in crisis, but the personal pan pizza is forever.
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Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
For @us.theguardian.com, I reported on how economic instability, skyrocketing costs of basic needs, and the job market are making it harder for young people to enter adulthood: "It’s never enough."
theguardian.com
‘It’s never enough’: young Americans struggle to build financial independence as cost of living spikes
A difficult job market and rising costs are making it harder for young adults to enter adulthood
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Dr Robin George Andrews @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
NEW: Remember that weird Mars rock with spots and seeds? They are the best evidence yet for alien life—and scientists are going to cook up those spots and seeds in high-tech labs back home to see if aliens might have been responsible. Me @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
scientificamerican.com
Evidence of Life on Mars Could Emerge from Labs on Earth
New laboratory studies could shed light on a rock containing potential signs of alien life that’s stranded on Mars
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
I'm back to freelancing until I sell my next book, and I'm on the lookout for science and environment stories. Message me if you have any leads!
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Okay, I'm here. I'm alive. I'll try to be interesting.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 11/12/2023
Book sale alert! 🚨 Take advantage of this short Amazon promotion for GATOR COUNTRY. Apply the coupon for $5.20 off the hardcover's already discounted price. GC has gotten rave reviews from NPR, the New York Times, Washington Post, People & more! Link in next post.
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades Hardcover – November 14, 2023
by Rebecca Renner (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars    31 ratings 4.1 on Goodreads 155 ratings
#1 New Release in Environmentalism
See all formats and editions
Coupon:    $5.20 coupon applied to one item at checkout Terms


"Delivers everything its title promises and much more." - NPR

"Remarkable... Every species, and every person who fights for its continued existence, deserves a book like this." ― The New York Times

"This nail-biter account has the intensity of the best true crime... A high-def tale that ensnares you from the start." ―People

David Grann meets Susan Orlean in this page-turning true story of an underground operation into the mysterious world of alligator poaching and its larger than life Floridian characters
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 08/12/2023
I found a cat crying in my apartment building hallway. I am both hoping and not hoping I can find its owner. Basically, I'm in the middle of Schrödinger's cat distribution system.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
Every day, it seems like a new animal is taking over the Sunshine State. This time, it's actually good news. My latest for @NatGeo: "American crocodiles are spreading north in Florida. That’s a good thing." www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
American crocodiles are spreading north in Florida. That’s a good thing.
The reptile, less aggressive than the American alligator, has been spotted 200 miles north of the Florida Everglades, suggesting it's reclaiming its former territory.
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Patrick Sauer @pjsauer.bsky.social · 02/12/2023
For the @washingtonpost.com, I reviewed the rip-roaringly good “Gator Country,” the first book from @rebeccarenner.bsky.social. She knows from the swampy terrain and you should chomp down on it this holiday season. H/T @johnwilliams.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/1...
washingtonpost.com
Review | ‘Gator Country’ is about beautiful nature and nefarious humanity
Rebecca Renner’s book marvels at the reptiles and follows an undercover attempt to catch poachers.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
I'm back home from my book tour for now. Here are some pics from my event at Tombolo Books, where Gator Country was this week's bestseller! The photo on the right includes Gator Country's main character, Jeff Babauta.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 30/11/2023
Gator Country is one of November’s Best Reviewed Nonfiction books, according to Literary Hub and Bookmarks! And they haven't even aggregated all its great reviews yet! If you haven't read it, you're missing out. lithub.com/novembers-be...
lithub.com
November’s Best Reviewed Nonfiction
Robert Darnton’s The Revolutionary Temper, Barbra Streisand’s My Name is Barbra, and Paul Caruana Galizia’s A Death in Malta all feature among this month’s best reviewed nonfictio…
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 29/11/2023
Gator Country is People Magazine's Book of the Week! This month, my book has been recommended by People, the New York Times, and Scientific American. Don't know of any other books with that weird trifecta. I love it!
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 14/11/2023
Gator Country is out today! "Every species, and every person who fights for its continued existence, deserves a book like this." — The New York Times Read an excerpt in Crime Reads: crimereads.com/gator-countr...
crimereads.com
A Journey Into the Heart of the Everglades, and the Alligator Poacher Sting that Divided a Community
In January 2020, I drove down from Orlando to the easternmost edge of the Everglades and booked a room in the neon-dazzled Miccosukee Casino & Resort, a hotel in the no-man’s-land between the g…
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 11/11/2023
Gator Country got the most glowing review in the New York Times Book Review, written by Lydia Millet! Even the review itself is a work of art. My jaw is on the floor. I feel so honored. www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/b...
nytimes.com
Florida Man Chases Poachers
In “Gator Country,” Rebecca Renner goes beyond the stereotypes to pay tribute to her beloved Everglades.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 09/11/2023
I did a video version of my Nat Geo Tegu story. What do you think? www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRvLqQrh/
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 08/11/2023
A dog-size lizard is threatening the U.S. South. Can it be stopped? Argentine black-and-white tegus are breeding in multiple states, posing a threat to native species. But recent efforts to trap them may be paying off. Read my latest story in Nat Geo: www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/arti...
nationalgeographic.com
A dog-size lizard is threatening the U.S. South. Can it be stopped?
Argentine black-and-white tegus are breeding in multiple states, posing a threat to native species. But recent efforts to trap them may be paying off.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 03/11/2023
Thanks to Jaime Herndon for the mention in this Book Riot list, "9 New November 2023 Nonfiction Releases To Curl Up With"! Gator Country is in wonderful company. The book I'm most looking forward to on this list is The Night Parade by @jaminlin.bsky.social bookriot.com/new-november...
bookriot.com
9 New November 2023 Nonfiction Releases to Curl Up With
This November's array of new nonfiction releases are perfect for cozying up with as it gets darker earlier.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 01/11/2023
More great news! Amazon editors picked Gator Country as one of the best books of November! (Link in next post)
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades
by Rebecca Renner  
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades
Gators, tricksters, double-agents, and poachers collide in this book that has Susan Orlean and David Grann vibes—in other words, Gator Country is heart-pounding narrative nonfiction that reads like fiction. After a hot tip from one of her students questioning the morality of a sting operation to catch poachers, Rebecca Renner sets out to uncover what exactly goes on in the humid waters of the Everglades—“the lungs of [the] planet.” And what she finds is not just a cat (gator) and mouse story of those laying down the law to prevent hunters from absconding with alligator hides to make into designer shoes. It’s a story of the land—who owns it and who doesn’t, who is protecting it and who isn’t (it might not be who you think!)—economic opportunity and its absence, survival and death, and just how deep undercover agents go to catch the “ba
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 31/10/2023
My book, Gator Country, is a best seller in environmentalist & naturalist biographies, and the number one new release in that category. It was also in the Goodreads newsletter today. AND there's more good news to come. Pinch me. I must be dreaming!
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 13/10/2023
I'm so sad to hear Louise Gluck has died. Her work was as unapologetic as she was. I was lucky to study with her at Bread Loaf when I was 21, because she had hand-picked one of my poems. She sang that poem's praises in workshop, but she ripped another one of my poems to shreds 1/4
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 13/10/2023
Read how I first learned about the story that would become my book, Gator Country: "The truth is often stranger than fiction." open.substack.com/pub/renner/p...
open.substack.com
The truth is often stranger than fiction.
The first time I heard the story of Operation Alligator Thief, it came to me as a rumor from one of my high school students.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
I'm LibraryThing's featured author of the month! Read the interview I did with them here: blog.librarything.com/2023/10/an-i...
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 04/10/2023
My publisher has teamed up with @gatorsdaily.bsky.social to do a giveaway of my book, Gator Country! It's a gator true crime adventure. Enter here: read.macmillan.com/fib/gatorcou...
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 04/09/2023
The road to my first book's publication has been really emotional so far. One day, I'm on top of the world. The next day, I'm stressed and panicked. Writers, do you have any advice on how to stay sane(ish) through all this?
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 03/09/2023
I'm considering wading back into book reviewing again, but I'm also terrified of my fellow authors. A few years ago, someone convinced me I would become a pariah if I even dared to rate someone else's book fewer than five stars. Were they right?
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 31/08/2023
Reality snuck up on me again: I'm doing a performance next week where all the writers read new work that responds to the news, preferably something funny. I have nothing. I need to write something brilliant and hilarious in less than five days. No pressure like the impending dread of an audience
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 25/08/2023
Big news! My debut book just got TWO starred reviews. Publishers Weekly calls GATOR COUNTRY "a triumph" with "a grace and rigor reminiscent of Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief." Kirkus says Gator Country is "Enlightening and full of suspense." "difficult to put down." I'm elated!!
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 18/08/2023
A magnetar’s magnetic field is so strong that it can crack open the star’s surface to release bursts of energy visible across billions of light-years & astronomers have found a star that might be about to go magnetar 🧪
scientificamerican.com
This Bizarre Star Could Become One of the Strongest Magnets in the Universe
Magnetars possess magnetic fields that are trillions of times stronger than those of ordinary stars. Now we might have seen one of these extraordinary objects about to form
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 18/08/2023
It's like he's made a list of every feature that made Twitter usable or enjoyable and is ticking them off one by one.
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Tove Danovich @tkdano.bsky.social · 18/08/2023
I loved getting to write about how species that people consider a nuisance or nonnative could play an important role in the ecosystem if we just gave them a chance. www.theatlantic.com/science/archive…
theatlantic.com
Give Invasive Species a Job
Wild horses could play a role in preventing wildfires, if we only gave them a chance.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 18/08/2023
When I was younger and dreaming of being a writer, I imagined I'd start my days with a leisurely cup of coffee and a book. Now, that's what I do. Even though it isn't perfect, I'm living the life I wanted: gratitude to meditate on this morning before I get back to writing.
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Lilly Dancyger @lillydancyger.bsky.social · 15/08/2023
When they say “write the book you want to read” they mean literally because you will read that shit so many goddamn times, you’d better like it
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 08/08/2023
About 24 hours until this Goodreads giveaway for my debut book GATOR COUNTRY ends. Please enter if you haven't already! Please share to help me get the word out! www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/371…
goodreads.com
Book giveaway for Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades by Rebecca Renn...
Enter to win one of 50 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Aug 01-Aug 08, 2023. We're giving away 50 ARCs of Gator Country by Rebecca Renner.
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 06/08/2023
So thrilled to give you this preview of our Sunshine State Biodiversity Group nonprofit's poster for the programming we've sponsored and curated for the Tallahassee Film Festival. More soon!
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Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 07/08/2023
Must-read post by @janefriedman.bsky.social about a disturbing new publishing trend. Essentially Amazon is allowing scammers to upload books under the names of well known and trusted authors, as has happened to Friedman. janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see…
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The Trandalorian @charliejaneanders.com · 07/08/2023
He was a boy She was a multinodal hive mind anchored in non-euclidean interdimensional space Can I make it any more obvious?
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Lincoln Michel @thelincoln.bsky.social · 06/08/2023
Me to myself, revising this short story
David Lynch in director's chair saying "Okay, let's try that again, but this time good."
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 06/08/2023
I have discovered the most potent source of inspiration. I have written an essay and a short story this weekend, and I planned out two separate nonfiction books— All because I told myself I would clean my apartment. Muse, I have found thy name: Procrastination.
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Matt Bell @mdbell79.bsky.social · 04/08/2023
I will never understand why there are so many publishing grifts, considering no one seems to be making money in publishing. So many hands jammed into one empty piggy bank.
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Sabrina Imbler @sabs.bsky.social · 28/07/2023
I wrote about one of the classic blunders! defector.com/never-go-in-against-a-…
defector.com
Never Go In Against A Caecilian When Death Is On The Line | Defector
To the touch, the legless amphibians known as caecilians feel like gummy worms emerging from a soap-slicked Slip ‘N Slide. This is how Marco Mancuso, a former master’s student at Vrije Universitei...
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 04/08/2023
My publisher and I are putting together my book tour itinerary right now. Any suggestions for where I should stop? Which bookstores are your favorite venues for readings?
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 01/08/2023
I'm reviving my newsletter—just monthly publishing updates, nothing too crazy. I would really appreciate it if you'd subscribe and share. This month, I talked about my my stubborn journey from nobody to selling my first book, GATOR COUNTRY. There's also a giveaway: tinyurl.com/gatorgiveaway
tinyurl.com
Giveaway Alert! I'm Giving Away 50 Copies of My Debut Book, GATOR COUNTRY
To catch a Florida Man, you have to become one, and that’s what Jeff Babauta does in my literary true crime debut GATOR COUNTRY. The tricky old wildlife officer faces off with the wiliest of poacher...
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 03/08/2023
My third grade teacher is excited for my book! Imagine having a rambunctious weirdo who can't spell in your class, and she grows up to be an author.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 03/08/2023
"Plantationocene" — I'm interested. I love coming across new words to explain concepts I've seen yet lacked a name for.
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 03/08/2023
I'm writing a short story for the first time since the pandemic began. Every time I write a potentially insightful line, I think, Is this brilliant or is this full of shit? Now I have a theory. Behold:
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 02/08/2023
Jellyfish were here half a billion years before us, and they'll be here half a billion years after us 🧪 fun story from @restingdinoface.bsky.social on a new Burgess Shale report
smithsonianmag.com
These 508-Million-Year-Old Fossils May Be Earth’s Oldest Swimming Jellyfish
Researchers found the rare remains in Canada
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 01/08/2023
I'm reviving my newsletter—just monthly publishing updates, nothing too crazy. I would really appreciate it if you'd subscribe and share. This month, I talked about my my stubborn journey from nobody to selling my first book, GATOR COUNTRY. There's also a giveaway: tinyurl.com/gatorgiveaway
tinyurl.com
Giveaway Alert! I'm Giving Away 50 Copies of My Debut Book, GATOR COUNTRY
To catch a Florida Man, you have to become one, and that’s what Jeff Babauta does in my literary true crime debut GATOR COUNTRY. The tricky old wildlife officer faces off with the wiliest of poacher...
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 31/07/2023
the hard-hitting journalism we all need right now
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Rebecca Renner @rebeccarenner.bsky.social · 31/07/2023
I have accomplished a single thing today. I made a hair appointment. Now for my next feat: looking moderately presentable!
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Tove Danovich @tkdano.bsky.social · 31/07/2023
I could very much use some work right now so if you are an assigning editor with something you need written, please get in touch! Tdanovich (at) gmail. Some of my clips here: www.tovedanovich.com/writing
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