It is pretty easy to write climate fiction set in the present. It is pretty impossible to get it published because everyone seems to believe it has to be set in the future when all has failed. I have a climate fiction mystery, The Earthstar Solution, set in today time, that I couldn’t even get listed here in Climate Fiction Writers League. We are not going to get more present day cli-fi that inspires people to take action now without support for those stories. If I can do it, others can write them too, but the support has to be there. I always say… if we want things to change, we have to imagine it. Write about the change we need now. And then help by spreading the word about those type of books.
Recently a friend said dystopia has been normalized, and I have to agree. Rather than indulge in speculative variations on the theme of doom and gloom, she wished for a Time Machine to go 50 years into the future to see how things actually turn out, since if there is one thing humans are good at it is muddling through impossible situations.
But do we really need more cli-fi? Sci-fi back in the day often assumed a post-apocalyptic world— usually nuclear war (still a distinct possibility!). Now the cli-fi sub genre has decided anthropogenic warming of the planet will be our Armageddon. Other variations on the end—of-the-world as we know it theme have robot overlords or zombie virus running amuck. William Gibson describes the “jackpot” scenario where all sorts of horrible possible outcomes converge.
Are there any possible visions of the future that are not dystopian, not utopian (which everyone agrees are no-where/impossible), but are feasible and practical? Perhaps a “eautopia” where we recognize our common denominator— water, which makes up most of our bodies and is essential to life as we know it. Anyone remember “Stranger in a Strange Land?” Maybe a modern day version with a happier ending. ,
I'm glad I stumbled upon this. Climate fiction is something I'd love to read more of, and I'm interested in checking out The Wager and the Bear.
As someone from the equine/animal welfare niche, I'm reminded of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – which has largely been credited for the abolition of the previously fashionable bearing rein in England, and a significant global uptick in support for animal welfare legislation following its publication.
There is certainly power in stories (and art in general) to sway public opinion and shift priorities by presenting topical issues in a manner the audience can relate to on a more intimate level, which I think holds a great deal of weight in today's world.
Very engaging essay. Thanks. I've been tired of dystopia and armageddon for a while, more interested in exploring how we'd live from an understanding that we are part of the web of life, not its overlords. I'm serializing my novel FLUX here about a climate scientist wrestling with despair and finding hope in reconciliation with the earth. The asthmatic climate scientist Grace Evans is a rising academic star, determined to expose the methane-leaking cracks in gas wells while hiding the widening cracks in her own life. https://juliegabrielli.substack.com/p/flux
I have some climate fiction waiting in the wings to write after the current WIP is completed, and for various reasons, I found this post important and timely for my writing process. Thank you for writing it.
Are you familiar with the term Thrutopia? Rupert Reid said we need stories of a better future—how to get “Thru” the breakdown. We learn and imagine best through story. There is a project here on Substack publishing this kind of near future story, “Welcome To Thrutopia.” The breakdown of our systems are happening now, as described by Joanna Macy’s The Great Turning. Imagining a better possible world is much more creative and fun than writing climate dystopias.
Agree! We do comics and interactive books in that space. It's really not hard. If you can't get a publisher, self publish! Less dystopias, more solarpunk futures.
A channel called Novel Marketing put out a video a few weeks ago about why people should STOP writing climate fiction because the men with the money are against it. It was nothing but disinformation and big oil propaganda.
It is pretty easy to write climate fiction set in the present. It is pretty impossible to get it published because everyone seems to believe it has to be set in the future when all has failed. I have a climate fiction mystery, The Earthstar Solution, set in today time, that I couldn’t even get listed here in Climate Fiction Writers League. We are not going to get more present day cli-fi that inspires people to take action now without support for those stories. If I can do it, others can write them too, but the support has to be there. I always say… if we want things to change, we have to imagine it. Write about the change we need now. And then help by spreading the word about those type of books.
Recently a friend said dystopia has been normalized, and I have to agree. Rather than indulge in speculative variations on the theme of doom and gloom, she wished for a Time Machine to go 50 years into the future to see how things actually turn out, since if there is one thing humans are good at it is muddling through impossible situations.
But do we really need more cli-fi? Sci-fi back in the day often assumed a post-apocalyptic world— usually nuclear war (still a distinct possibility!). Now the cli-fi sub genre has decided anthropogenic warming of the planet will be our Armageddon. Other variations on the end—of-the-world as we know it theme have robot overlords or zombie virus running amuck. William Gibson describes the “jackpot” scenario where all sorts of horrible possible outcomes converge.
Are there any possible visions of the future that are not dystopian, not utopian (which everyone agrees are no-where/impossible), but are feasible and practical? Perhaps a “eautopia” where we recognize our common denominator— water, which makes up most of our bodies and is essential to life as we know it. Anyone remember “Stranger in a Strange Land?” Maybe a modern day version with a happier ending. ,
Hi mark. See my comment below.
I'm glad I stumbled upon this. Climate fiction is something I'd love to read more of, and I'm interested in checking out The Wager and the Bear.
As someone from the equine/animal welfare niche, I'm reminded of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – which has largely been credited for the abolition of the previously fashionable bearing rein in England, and a significant global uptick in support for animal welfare legislation following its publication.
There is certainly power in stories (and art in general) to sway public opinion and shift priorities by presenting topical issues in a manner the audience can relate to on a more intimate level, which I think holds a great deal of weight in today's world.
"What we don’t have enough, are real world stories that could help us to imagine the kind of earth we are creating."
I agree. Please consider:
https://open.substack.com/pub/dakelly/p/table-of-contents?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=gc2d2
Very engaging essay. Thanks. I've been tired of dystopia and armageddon for a while, more interested in exploring how we'd live from an understanding that we are part of the web of life, not its overlords. I'm serializing my novel FLUX here about a climate scientist wrestling with despair and finding hope in reconciliation with the earth. The asthmatic climate scientist Grace Evans is a rising academic star, determined to expose the methane-leaking cracks in gas wells while hiding the widening cracks in her own life. https://juliegabrielli.substack.com/p/flux
I have some climate fiction waiting in the wings to write after the current WIP is completed, and for various reasons, I found this post important and timely for my writing process. Thank you for writing it.
Are you familiar with the term Thrutopia? Rupert Reid said we need stories of a better future—how to get “Thru” the breakdown. We learn and imagine best through story. There is a project here on Substack publishing this kind of near future story, “Welcome To Thrutopia.” The breakdown of our systems are happening now, as described by Joanna Macy’s The Great Turning. Imagining a better possible world is much more creative and fun than writing climate dystopias.
Agree! We do comics and interactive books in that space. It's really not hard. If you can't get a publisher, self publish! Less dystopias, more solarpunk futures.
A channel called Novel Marketing put out a video a few weeks ago about why people should STOP writing climate fiction because the men with the money are against it. It was nothing but disinformation and big oil propaganda.
I sadly don’t think this has been translated into English, but “Gli uomini pesce” (The Fishmen) by Wu Ming 1 it’s one!
https://www.wumingfoundation.com/giap/gli-uomini-pesce-di-wu-ming-1-florilegio/