I’m super excited to announce that I have a new anthology of climate stories coming out today! I pitched the concept for the collection to my publisher because I wanted to see more hopeful fiction about the future.
Future Hopes is suitable for ages 9-12 and features stories by Eli Brown, L. R. Lam, M. G. Leonard, Rebecca Lim, Oisín McGann, Tolá Okogwu, Neal and Brendan Shusterman, Louie Stowell and Bijal Vachharajani.
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Ajji walked past the tamarind tree, inviting Ara and Chhaya to do the same. “We never changed our methods. We still farm like my grandparents did. And my parents. Our trees – we worship them. They welcome birds and animals and us; they provide shade to the coffee plants. Even more important now that the summers are so hot and dry. We grow millets and coffee, vegetables and rice. All one big happy family.”
“It’s called intercropping,” Chhaya chimed in.
“Don’t show off, Chhaya!” Ajji clucked at her.
from The Drongo’s Call by Bijal Vachharajani
I’ve spent the last few years working hard to use my platform as a writer to promote climate action. After publishing several climate fiction books like Green Rising and The Deep-Sea Duke, I set up the Climate Fiction Writers League, a group of 200+ authors.
I advise people on how to write hopeful climate fiction, and have consulted with museums & production companies and worked with the Society of Authors’ Sustainability committee to represent the interests of British authors. I have also participated in the Hollywood Climate Summit Pitchfest and spoken at the Movers and Makers Conference at BBC Television Centre.
Why mention climate change in books? It is proven that hope and optimism will inspire more action than anything else. Fiction can inspire a huge amount of empathy, and that’s a force that we can use collectively to inspire change on a global level.
62% of people say they hear much more about the negative impacts of climate change than they do about progress towards reducing climate change, resulting in a perceived Solutions Gap.
A great example of something doing climate change discussion properly is the TV show Ted Lasso, which is about a football team in the UK. In an episode, it is discovered that the football team kit sponsor Dubai Air is owned by Cerithium Oil, who have refused to clean up oil spills in player Sam's native Nigeria. He sets out to get the team to find a new sponsor.
The plot is uplifting and joyful, being focussed on Sam’s character growth as he stands up for his beliefs. It doesn’t shy away from politics, and shows the true ways to act involve finances, such as changing to a green bank/pensions scheme. It is a relatable, contemporary issue that people can connect to, and shows the connections between countries’ climate issues.
Helping writers weave in climate issues is done in the TV/Film industries through initiatives such as The Albert project, which shows production companies how to weave climate themes into their storytelling through ‘planet placement’. There is also the Good Energy Playbook and Climate Story Labs.
It needs to be more of a focus in publishing too, so I try to help authors see how they can be promoting activism in any type of novel. To create more of the kinds of hopeful stories I want to see, I pitched a ‘positive’ climate anthology for children to my publisher.
It’s especially important for children to see hopeful visions of the future world they are going to grow up in.
“Climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses are widespread in children and young people in countries across the world and impact their daily functioning. A perceived failure by governments to respond to the climate crisis is associated with increased distress.” - The Lancet
With my publisher, I worked to create the Future Hopes anthology. Nine authors pose ingenious and thought-provoking solutions to the climate crisis in this anthology of climate fiction, such as skyscraper farms, insect food and guerilla gardening.
“Hundreds of people are going to be swimming in the sea,” I said, in my talking-to-nerds voice. “Including me. And there’s a big-assed squid out there. In the sea.”
“Squids don’t really have asses,” Dad replied.
from Eyeballs, Tentacles and Teeth by Oisín McGann
The authors, who include Neal Shusterman and M. G. Leonard, were given a list of solutions believed to combat climate change most effectively, based on science research from Project Drawdown.
For example, green city planning such as rentable electric car-pooling, electric bike-sharing, secure cycle and pedestrian lanes, free buses, free insulation upgrades. The importance of rewilding urban areas – roadside fruit and nut orchards, verge allotments, vertical skyscraper farms, rooftop gardens for cooling. Types of sustainable agriculture – tree alleyways in crop fields, perennial crops, free-roaming livestock, no tillage, no fertilizers.
I was buzzing. I took a large wooden spoon from the cutlery drawer and waved it like a magic wand. “Let the mixing begin!”
I dumped a heap of flour into the bowl. I wasn’t sure how much was needed, so I added a bit more. A puff of flour wafted up my nostrils, making me sneeze into the mixture.
“Snot is sustainable!” I shrugged.
from Food of the Future by M. G. Leonard
Once the first drafts were written, I then helped the writers to increase the climate content. This included suggestions to provide more of the characters’ thoughts on the future world they live in.
For example, intergenerational conversations can give a lot of insights – what was different when the characters’ parents/grandparents were growing up? Do young characters remember how the world used to be? What changes do they appreciate and what goes unnoticed?
Other advice was to describe the setting more – this naturally leads into opportunities to mention things that are different in infrastructure from our world.
I encouraged the writers to use more dialogue where characters are actively complaining about something about the world they live in, or trying to decide how to fix a problem, since this is a more natural way to give information about the world than in exposition in a chunky paragraph.
It’s important to make sure the world sends the right message – it doesn’t have to be a positive world, but it shouldn’t leave readers feeling guilty about their carbon footprints.
We want to inspire people, not panic them. Writers should use anger and frustration to drive writing, but not write an angry book - people don’t want to read that.
Try to convey the seriousness of the situation without making it seem futile. Show that climate change is solvable. It’s not imminent and long-term, but it is happening right now.
The messaging needs to avoid blaming individuals for their emissions. People won’t engage if they’re just going to be made to feel guilty about not recycling! There is also a lot of space for positivity connected to nature.
Stetson was doing his jackhammering, moving at a nice clip, when he suddenly broke through to another cavern – one that wasn’t on the map [of the landfill]. Warm, fetid air spilled out. It was awful, smelling so strongly of ammonia it hurt Zak’s eyes. He – all of them – immediately put on their gas masks.
A flood of furry creatures pouring out of the hole. Dozens of them.
“Oh no! We hit a Dump Devil nest!”
from Dump Devil by Neal & Brendan Shusterman
I want to encourage writers try to show that industry, economics and political factors are to blame. Call out the companies who have been specifically working to slow climate activism.
Future Hopes is an uplifting reading experience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed editing it.
Thank you (and everyone involved!) on your heartfelt work on this anthology, and congratulations on its release. It is so critical that we find ways to talk with kids about climate change. They see it. They learn about it at school starting at the earliest ages (as they should!). Plus, kids today are more connected globally than ever because of social media. They have also grown up with recycling “options” surrounding them. Then, they see the lackadaisical responses or even denial from governments and companies who have the most power to effect change. It can feel so hopeless and dire, invoking anxiety and fear, to the point some kids struggle just to function because of this “why bother” mentality. I love how you offer hopeful stories about this very real fear. My hope is it will also open the door for conversations at home, helping kids and families find tangible and creative ways to become activists for their future world. Some parents don’t know how to navigate these conversations, and I think Future Hopes will be a great tool for them to use. “…it doesn’t have to be a positive world…Try to convey the seriousness of the situation without making it seem futile.” So grateful 🌎❤️