Metamorphosis by Grist

An imaginative anthology of climate fiction from emerging new voices, curated by the editors of Grist Magazine.

For many of us, the thought of our planet centuries in the future signals a volatile dystopia: our world devastated by climate change, our people bitter and broken. But this shining anthology presents an alternative future. These twelve winning selections from Grist's Imagine 2200 short story contest shirk the fear and mourning that often mark speculative climate fiction, daring instead to dream of humanity's varied communities meeting planetary challenges in fascinating and novel ways.

Imagine 2200 was founded to counter the dominance of the dystopian in futurist writings, and to "ensure climate stories and characters represent diverse voices, authentic cultures, and the intersectional reality of the climate crisis." Metamorphosis beautifully elucidates those themes, featuring a wide array of thought-Afro-, Asian, Indigenous, Latinx, disabled, feminist, and queer futurisms, hopepunk, solarpunk, and more. In "To Labor for the Hive," a beekeeper finds purpose and new love after collaborating on a bee-based warning system for floods. "Cabbage Koora: A Prognostic Autobiography" presents an ecologically rebalancing California where an Indian family preserves traditions through food and dance across generations. And in "And Now the Shade," a Mexican bioengineer finds the answer to a perplexing problem in the dreams of her dying grandmother. Each of these powerful stories offers a glimpse of a future built not on cynicism, but on "sustainability, inclusivity, and justice," testifying to the power of human courage and collective resilience.

Edited by Grist and introduced by Sheree Renee Thomas, a New York Times best-selling author and editor of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Metamorphosis will electrify and activate readers concerned about our "future ancestors" and the fate of all our attending flora and fauna. These stunning stories imagine a tomorrow in which we do more than survive: we thrive-together.

Praise for Metamorphosis

"Moving beyond the too-simple axis of hope and despair, Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future represents a necessary kind of literature-stories that contend with both where we're headed and where we want to go. There are radical reimaginings of the world on almost every page of this collection, written by authors who represent some of the most exciting new names in speculative fiction. But more than pragmatism or prescriptivism, these stories are grounded in soul, a deep communion with the belief that we can-and must-rebuild our relationship with the planet."-Omar El Akkad, author of What Strange Paradise

"Humanity is facing a moment in its existence that demands all of the species' faculties for imagination, hope, language and sympathy. It may be close to the last moment. The twelve stories and speculations in this volume suggest that survival and well-being are indeed within reach, if we exercise the qualities that best make us human."-Ken Kalfus, author of 2 A.M. in Little America

"Too often, climate change narratives center the privileged and ignore the world's most vulnerable communities. But this slim yet culturally expansive collection offers a necessary framework for the future, one that does not simply think about adaptation or tech or policy but embraces the hope and possibility of perhaps our greatest asset: one another. Imaginative, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once-a crucial and beautifully humane climate fiction entry."-Sequoia Nagamatsu, author of How High We Go in the Dark

"Metamorphosis is both astonishing and reassuring-these stories, written by people scattered all across Earth, dare to imagine a future where humans survive. There are no perfect Utopias or simple solutions here. And yet there is hope that we will find many pathways toward sustaining the ecosystems that sustain us."-Annalee Newitz, author of The Terraformers

Praise for Afterglow

"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."-Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

"The twelve stories in the anthology Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors . . . take readers into the future and across the globe to witness how humanity has persevered in the face of climate-crisis-induced destruction."-ZYZZYVA

"Ultimately, I hope these stories reveal how our imaginations can help build a better reality-not only to serve as a guiding light, but to serve as a balm for these current, difficult times."-Morgan Jerkins, author of This Will Be My Undoing

"This sparkling anthology of 12 climate fiction stories distinguishes itself with its hopeful bent. . . . Offering a glimpse at imagined futures across the globe, this is a welcome lift to the spirits to those who may be struggling to see any brightness amid climate fears."-Publishers Weekly

"This short story collection radiates radical imagination. . . . If you're feeling bouts of climate anxiety or even apocalypse fatigue, Afterglow will remind you to keep the faith."-Sierra magazine

"The art of storytelling is not only an act of memory and imagination, but one of hope and faith. These vivid and provocative stories represent a dreaming, a collective vision of future worlds where humanity has gathered itself, shared resources and wisdom, to arrive at a place of intentional action, health, and thriving. It is no small feat on the page or beyond to engage in such brave work. The tales of Afterglow offer the glimmers of possibility, the hard choices to be made, and the radiance of worlds not yet known but deeply needed."-Sheree Renee Thomas, author of Black Panther: Panther's Rage and Nine Bar Blues