Climate Fiction Short Stories

Climate fiction author Richard Friedman takes the listener on a journey from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to the edges of the universe with his collection of short stories. A narcissistic east coast billionaire receives a visit from three ghosts in a contemporary spin on a timeless classic. Judgment Day asks, is humanity worth saving? A family takes a tour through the Grand Museum of the Universe in The Docent and the crew of the space shuttle witnesses a nuclear holocaust in The World Burns Below.

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, The Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times, Daily Mail, The Independent, and the Chicago Public Library From the twice-Booker-nominated writer of Burntcoat, a bold and astonishing literary masterpiece that explores faith, connection, and our...

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD NAMED A NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST A razor-sharp new collection of stories of visionary childhood misfits and struggling adult dreamers from this legendary writer of “perfectly...

What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award - winning author of the Broken Earth trilogy. An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: A graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind - hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out ages ago.

Hundreds of years after the end of the world, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow finds itself beset by demons. Such horrors are common these days in the outlands, where most folks die young—if they don’t turn into monsters first. When a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest unearthly beast to haunt their woods, the town’s new oral historian, Shrike, has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her—that May is still herself, somewhere beneath it all—she can’t prove it.

It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?

Only a few nuclear weapons fell. But in the chaos of famine and plague, there existed a few pockets of order. The strongest of them was the state of Deseret. The climate has changed, and the lake has filled up. There, on the fringes, brave, hardworking pioneers are making the desert bloom again.

Meet the writers’ room of the kid’s show Rooty Root Vegetables, which struggles to find humor in carbon emissions and climate change. Then things get punny.

Not dystopia — renewal. Solarpunk is the newest branch of speculative fiction—an optimistic vision of the future where renewal, resilience, and human connection take center stage. Too much science fiction has fallen into dystopian clichés. This anthology of stories distinguished by international recognition follows characters and communities finding their way forward: A girl with a rare disorder discovers life beyond screens. A professor chasing fusion energy receives visions he can’t explain. A coming-of-age tale of friendship across time. In an antediluvian world, two teens from ...

We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world's leading climate activist, comes the essential handbook for making it happen. You might think it's an impossible task: secure a safe future for life on Earth, at a scale and speed never seen, against all the odds. There is...

Sam has retreated to her late father’s rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns - until an aggressive neighbor from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.

The protected escapees of the blood-farm experiments are free, secure, and set for life. Kind of. Because there’s something new to fear in this short thriller, the twisting finale of the Young Blood Trilogy.

Miriam was raised in a society without children. To offset the devastation of climate change, state-of-the-art birth control has made daycares and playgrounds things of the past. As tempting as the government inducements are to remain child-free, Miriam’s curiosity about the people who “drop out” of society to become parents grows. When she finds a like-minded partner, she must choose between the rewarding comforts she knows and the unknowable mysteries of being a mother.

Countdown to Zero is the first in The Visioner Series of short stories. One day, Alexander McNeil notices that he has some strange powers that he really doesn’t understand. Remarkably, he’s able to tell with absolute certainty the exact day that someone will die. Working in the British Embassy in Moscow, Alexander is called to attend a World disarmament summit in the Kremlin as a translator. Everything is going very smoothly, until he’s asked to join a meeting attended by the new U.S. President. What do you do if you suddenly realise, for certain, that one of the main World leaders ...

Forty years ago, Walt Kelly's comic strip character Pogo famously intoned: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Now, as the evidence for climate change becomes overwhelming, we learn the hard reality behind that witticism. The possible destruction, and certain transformation, of the ecosphere has been brought about by our own activities. What will our new world look like? How will we - can we - adapt? The clash of a rapidly changing environment with earth's self-styled ruling species, humans, provides ample creative fodder for this riveting anthology of original science fiction.

An “astonishing debut collection, by a writer reminiscent of such greats as Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, and even Chekhov” (Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants), focusing on women navigating relationships with humans, animals, and the natural world. Exploring the way our choices and...

Their captivity was traumatizing. And draining. But revenge is in the blood for a group of brave survivors in this chilling short story of conspiracies and youthful pleasures gone awry.

Major John McCormick has two battles to fight: protect Earth from an alien invasion and keep his premature daughter alive in a hospital that could become a target at any moment. When amphibian-like creatures known as "Toads" launch their latest offensive, McCormick and his experimental fighter squadron stand as the last line of defense between the invaders and the hospital where his wife and infant daughter remain trapped. But as mysterious weather patterns begin disrupting both human and alien operations, McCormick discovers that Earth itself might be awakening to fight back against the ...

A Captivating Short Story Inspired by Innuit Legend and The Modern Day Plight of The Polar Bear. Journey into a world where an ancient spirit walks among mortals, and the balance of nature hangs by a delicate thread. Immerse yourself in a mesmerizing narrative that weaves together the captivating stories of Nanuk, the Polar Bear Shapeshifter Goddess, and the clash of cultures in the icy realms of Greenland. Witness the legacy of a young Inuit hunter chosen by destiny, the intricate magic of totems holding ancestral power, and the plight of the Arctic bears facing extinction at the hands of ...

A hopeful, speculative short story collection about how humanity grapples in a world transformed by climate change. “Climate fiction does not owe readers hope, but through humor and humanity Hyde manages to present a harsh reality without descending into despair, offering a space for mourning...