Merlin Sheldrake (born 1987) is a British mycologist and writer known for his work on mycorrhiza.
Merlin Sheldrake was born in 1987 in LondontoRupert Sheldrake, a biologist and author, and Jill Purce, a therapist.[1][2] He grew up near Hampstead Heath in London.[3] His brother, Cosmo Sheldrake, is a musician. As a teenager, Sheldrake was influenced by Paul Stamets, a self-taught "fungal evangelist," and Karl von Frisch's book Animal Architecture.[4]
Sheldrake received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge in biological sciences, where he also earned a master's degree in the history and philosophy of science and later a PhDintropical ecology.[5] He studied underground fungal networks in Panama's tropical forests as a predoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.[2][6]
In 2020, Sheldrake authored his debut book, Entangled Life, which was a bestseller in both The Sunday Times and The New York Times and received the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize.[7][8] Entangled Life has positioned Merlin Sheldrake as a leading advocate for fungi.[4] He has presented an IMAX film called Fungi: Web of Life which was narrated by Björk and filmed in Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest.[9][10]
Inspired by Sheldrake's book, couture designer Iris van Herpen created a collection based on fungi, featuring designs mimicking chanterelle mushrooms and hyphae.[4][11]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheldrake co-founded a business called Sheldrake & Sheldrake with his brother that sells fermented hot sauce.[4]
In 2021, Sheldrake consulted on Stella McCartney's fungal-themed Paris runway show, which featured a soundtrack by his brother, Cosmo Sheldrake that used a device to convert mycelium's electrical signals into musical notes.[4][12][13]
Sheldrake works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, which aims to map and protect global mycorrhizal diversity.[14] He also works with mycologist Giuliana Furci and NYU law professor César Rodríguez Garavito to create legal protections for fungi, contributing to a larger movement that aims to provide legal representation for non-human living entities.[4][15] Since 2023, he has been a research associate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.[4]
Sheldrake is married to the poet, Erin Robinsong.[4]
