Bolinas-based artist, illustrator, and Mesa alum Sophie Wood Brinker joins Point Reyes Books at the Dance Palace to celebrate the publication of her new book, Birds of Santa Cruz. This event is organized by Point Reyes Books. This is a free event and no registration is required. Visit their website for more information.

This charming, full-color guide to the birds of Santa Cruz is infused with California coastal soul and the quiet fierceness of love one can only derive from ardent attention. Author-illustrator Sophie Wood Brinker profiles 25 species you’re likely to spot hopping the sands or soaring overhead in Surf City, and shares what we can learn not only about them but from them. From the collective organizing of the Brown Pelican, to the community protection of the California Quail, to the Band-Tailed Pigeon flock that Sophie likens to a mutual aid cooperative, these birds have stories to tell. Vivid hand-painted portraits accompanied by identification and song notes help everyone get to know their avian neighbors, with descriptions of each species that invoke reflections from Diane di Prima, Mary Oliver, and dreamers of all stripes. A joy to read and pore over, Birds of Santa Cruz shimmers with poetic sensibility and a conservationist ethos. Sophie’s findings, gleaned from patient observation, will enchant readers far beyond the city limits.

Sophie Wood Brinker is a science illustrator and writer who concentrates on appreciation of the small care of human and non-human neighbors. As a Quaker, Sophie grew up sitting in intergenerational circles and hearing messages spoken out of silence. She has lived in Quaker communities on and off for much of her life and deeply values spending time with elders, asking questions and working towards living a life of integrity and a quiet fierceness. Sophie has a BA in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College and is a graduate of the Science Illustration Graduate program at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is also a librarian at the Stinson Beach Library. Sophie worked on Birds of Santa Cruz while she was at Mesa Refuge. She was a 2025 West Marin Community Fellow. You can learn more about Sophie Wood Brinker here.