New Dystopias: Climate Change & Fiction

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When

Tuesday, 24 Mar 2015, 06:15pm - 07:15pm

All of a sudden, everyone from literary giants (Michel Faber, David Mitchell) to small presses and self-publishers are putting out near-future novels that create scenarios of how climate change will shape the lives of individuals and societies. Their conclusions are not pretty: these fictional futures – which often reference current science and technology, and extrapolate from the darker expert predictions – are grim.

How fictional is this growing new genre? Does it reflect our fears, our real-life futures, or a bit of both? And is it possible that storytellers might be able to create empathy and affect change in ways that scientists can’t?

Featuring

Featuring

Jane Rawson

Jane Rawson writes novels, essays and stories, mostly about climate change and animals. Her latest novel is From the Wreck. She lives in Tasmania’s Huon Valley and works for a conservation organisation.

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James Bradley

James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist and Clade, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. His new novel, Ghost Species, is published by Hamish Hamilton. ... Read more

Alice Robinson

Alice Robinson grew up in Parkville and Wallan. She earned a Bachelor of Creative Arts from The University of Melbourne and a PhD in Creative Writing from Victoria University, where she was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research. Alice’s debut novel, Anchor Point (Affirm Press, 2015)... Read more

Tony Birch

Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. He has published three novels; The White Girl, Ghost River and Blood. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Pa... Read more

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