Afterglow
Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
Hopeful and forward-looking futuristic short stories that explore how the power of storytelling can help create the world we need.
Afterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organisation dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world.
Afterglow draws inspiration from a range of cutting-edge literary movements including Afrofuturism, hopepunk, and solarpunk — genres that uplift equitable climate solutions and continued service to one’s community, even in the face of despair. The Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, disabled, feminist, and queer voices in this collection imagine intersectional worlds in which no community is left behind. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality.
Afterglow welcomes a diverse range of new voices into the climate conversation to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. A creative work rooted in the realities of our present crisis, Afterglow presents a new way to think about the climate emergency — one that blazes a path to a clean, green, and more just future.
‘This is a glorious book that challenges our conceptions of bookmaking as much as it questions our conceptions of world-building. We, as earthlings, will be better to the earth after experiencing this book. That is not hyperbole.’ — New York Times bestselling author Kiese Laymon
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Its goal is to use the power of storytelling to illuminate the way toward a better world, inspire millions of people to walk that path with us, and show that the time for action is now.