2016 Climate Fiction Short Story Contest

Arizona State University’s Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative is hosting its first-ever Climate Fiction Short Story Contest, challenging people to imagine futures for Earth and humanity shaped by climate change and other forms of environmental transformation.

First prize is $1,000. Three more winners will receive book bundles signed by Paolo Bacigalupi.

The best submissions will be published in an online anthology, and will also be considered for publication in the journal Issues in Science and Technology.

Kim Stanley Robinson ph Catriona Sparks

Kim Stanley Robinson. Photo by Catriona Sparks.

The contest will be judged by Kim Stanley Robinson, along with a panel of experts from the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative.

“This contest is a wonderful idea and I’m happy to be part of it,” said Robinson. “There’s a thrill to writing and reading fiction that can’t be matched by any other activity. As we move into the climate change century, the stories we tell each other about coping with it are going to be a crucial part of our thoughts and actions, so I urge people to give this contest a try and see what happens.”

The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2016. Stories should be no longer than 5,000 words. There is no entry fee, and the contest is open to writers of all ages and levels.

Evaluation criteria:

  1. Your story should, in some way, envision the future of Earth and humanity as impacted by climate change.
  2. Your story should reflect – directly or indirectly – current scientific knowledge about future climate change, without prejudice to your artistic freedom to exaggerate and invent fictional worlds.
  3. You story could illuminate and invite reflections on a climate-related challenge that individuals, communities, organizations or societies face today (e.g., daily decisions and behaviors, policy-making and politics, strategy and planning, moral responsibility to the future, investment in R&D or technologies, health, etc. …).

All details are available here.

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