What Is Area X?

Florida author Jeff VanderMeer's NYT-bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy has reached hundreds of thousands of readers with a movie of the first book, Annihilation, released by Paramount Pictures in 2018.   

The novels explore the mystery of "Area X," a pristine wilderness in which something strange has happened, something inexplicable and transformative. 

The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is the main inspiration for VanderMeer's popular ecological thrillers.  He has hiked the refuge since the early 1990s, when he moved to Tallahassee.  The setting of Annihilation in particular is based on the Refuge's 12-mile Deep Creek trail re-imagined to locate the lighthouse at its end. 

Published in more than 35 languages, the series has given many readers worldwide an appreciation for the North Florida landscape.

VanderMeer authorized the Friends to design and sell an Area X T-shirt with all the proceeds going to benefit Refuge programs.  The Nature Store carries Area X T-shirts, and the three volumes of the Southern Reach Trilogy.  The shirt has become our biggest seller.