Henry Nicholls

Henry Nicholls is a science journalist and author, specialising in evolutionary biology, conservation, the history of biology and sleep.

Over the last 15 years, he has written news and features for many of the world’s leading popular science magazines (including New Scientist, BBC Focus, BBC Wildlife, Nature, Science, Astronomy Now and Chemistry World), broadsheets (The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Financial Times) and websites (BBC Earth, Mosaic, Nautil.us). His zoology blog "Animal Magic" is hosted by The Guardian on its award-winning Science Blog Network. He is regularly invited to contribute reviews of books and exhibitions to Nature, BBC Focus and BBC Wildlife. Nicholls is the editor of Galapagos Matters, the biannual members’ magazine of the Galapagos Conservation Trust.

Nicholls has written three acclaimed popular science books. Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon was nominated for The Guardian First Book Award in 2006 and shortlisted for the Royal Society’s prestigious General Book Prize in 2007. The Way of the Panda: The Curious History of China’s Political Animal charts the coincident rise of giant pandas and modern China. The Galapagos: A Natural History is “an enchanting and enlightening account of the most scientifically significant islands in the world.”

His latest book is Sleepyhead: Narcolepsy, Neuroscience and the Search for a Good Night, an exploration of the peculiar but fascinating world of sleep disorders. When Nicholls was 21 he developed narcolepsy, a rare but not-so-rare sleep disorder characterized by frequent, highly disabling sleep attacks. But it was the constellation of other symptoms, including cataplexy (muscular paralysis in response to emotion), sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and, paradoxically, insomnia that led him to take on a book on sleep and sleep disorders.