Mark Franklyn Hawthorne is an American animal rights advocate, vegan and writer.
Biography
Hawthorne is the author of three books: Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism, Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering, and A Vegan Ethic: Embracing A Life Of Compassion Toward All. In A Vegan Ethic, he urges vegans to be inclusive in their compassion, explaining that is the only course for activists to take if they want to free nonhuman animals from exploitation—that victory for the animal liberation movement will only come through working for liberation for all marginalized groups. He is currently working on a book about rabbits that explores their habitats and evolution, their role in legend and literature, their place in popular culture, their biology, and their significance as household companions. Hawthorne is vegan and has published around 100 articles or entries in books and magazines on vegetarianism and animal rights. He has been writing for magazines since about 1987. Hawthorne is one of several people who provided information used in the writing of the book Uncaged: Top Activists Share Their Wisdom on Effective Farm Animal Advocacy by Ben Davidow. James E. McWilliams says: "Bleating Hearts is the most comprehensive single compendium of animal exploitation that exists.... Hawthorne forces us to expand that vision in ways even experienced ethical vegans will find informative and alarming." Hawthorne won the 2003 Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Nonfiction. In July 2008, Hawthorne created the website which he regularly updates with new essays, reviews, and news. VegNews magazine was nominated for the 2010 Maggie Award for Best Feature, for Mark Hawthorne's article "Dried Up." Two years later, VegNews was nominated for the 2012 Maggie Award for Best Feature Article, for Hawthorne's article "Injustice for All." Hawthorne's parents are John Franklyn Hawthorne and Cheryl Annette Hawthorne. Hawthorne attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California in 1980-1982. In 1983-1985 he attended California State University, Fullerton where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 1992, before he was vegan or an activist, Hawthorne joined two friends in Pamplona, Spain, and took part in the Running of the Bulls. Afterward, he felt ashamed. An expanded, 10th-anniversary edition of Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism was released as a 416-page paperback in November 2018. Hawthorne is married to animal activist lauren Ornelas; they live in northern California.
