The 2025 Imagine climate fiction contest collection
Explore 12 brand-new climate fiction short stories that invite us to imagine the future we want — futures in which climate solutions flourish and we all thrive.
Climate Fiction
About Imagine 2200
Imagine 2200 is Grist’s climate fiction initiative, engaging writers across the globe in envisioning the next 180 years of climate progress. Whether built on abundance or adaptation, reform or a new understanding of survival, these stories serve as a springboard for exploring how fiction can help us build toward a better reality.
Explore past winners and collections
Latest climate fiction stories
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![Stylized illustration depicts a silhouette wearing headphones with sound waves radiating around. Below their feet is a bright world of mushrooms and fungi.]()
![Stylized illustration depicts a silhouette wearing headphones with sound waves radiating around. Below their feet is a bright world of mushrooms and fungi.]()
The Case of the Missing Lake
Lake Ballona goes missing, and only the mushrooms can help.
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![Abstract illustration of a woman with water swirling around her]()
![Abstract illustration of a woman with water swirling around her]()
Imagine 2200 at Climate Week NYC 2025
Dive into the climate fiction short stories you've seen at our Climate Week NYC events.
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![Illustration portrays two young women riding on a motorcycle through a field of flowers]()
![Illustration portrays two young women riding on a motorcycle through a field of flowers]()
The Sunflower Covenant
When Dee is transferred to the swanky Wicker school, their education in conformity is quickly derailed by another misfit willing to fight for a different world.
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![Illustration shows a group of young people sitting on the ground of a lush greenhouse filled with fruit trees, listening to a man standing in the center.]()
![Illustration shows a group of young people sitting on the ground of a lush greenhouse filled with fruit trees, listening to a man standing in the center.]()
The Hunger and the Hunger
“Visitor, what is hunger?” A former guerilla fighter struggles to explain his past when he finds himself in a land without poverty or want.
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![Illustration shows a man standing in an overgrown river delta, wearing an orange backpack, locs blowing in the wind. He is looking at a public telephone box standing alone among the undergrowth.]()
![Illustration shows a man standing in an overgrown river delta, wearing an orange backpack, locs blowing in the wind. He is looking at a public telephone box standing alone among the undergrowth.]()
The Seed Dropper
Decades after flooding drove his family from their Louisiana home, June returns to replant the land, and grapple with its legacy.
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![Dreamy illustration of green crop fields overlayed with two cloudy figures in an embrace]()
![Dreamy illustration of green crop fields overlayed with two cloudy figures in an embrace]()
Meet Me Under the Molokhia
A seed researcher meets a mysterious spirit in the field, leaving both with a choice about where they will call home.
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![Illustration shows a man with his arm around the waist of a humanoid android. They stand on a balcony looking out over a city skyline.]()
![Illustration shows a man with his arm around the waist of a humanoid android. They stand on a balcony looking out over a city skyline.]()
Last Tuesday, for Eternity
What happens when an android making good on a pledge to return to the earth suddenly falls in love?
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![Illustration of an elderly woman sitting on a mechanical dugong in the water. She wears elaborate armor and holds a spear, waiting to attack a large trawler ship.]()
![Illustration of an elderly woman sitting on a mechanical dugong in the water. She wears elaborate armor and holds a spear, waiting to attack a large trawler ship.]()
Mousedeer Versus the Ghost Ships
When automated ships threaten their recovering ecosystem, it falls to Ah Ma and the crew of the Mousedeer to fight back.
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![Illustration showing a person's hands doing a needlepoint of a pod of whales. The whales seem to be swimming off the surface of the needlepoint.]()
![Illustration showing a person's hands doing a needlepoint of a pod of whales. The whales seem to be swimming off the surface of the needlepoint.]()
A Eulogy for Each and Every End
An apprentice undertaker learns the art of death and dying.
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![Illustration shows a tan pickup truck driving on a mountain road in the pouring rain, accompanied by a small drone flying overhead]()
![Illustration shows a tan pickup truck driving on a mountain road in the pouring rain, accompanied by a small drone flying overhead]()
Our Continuity, Each of Us Raindrops
Two brothers embark on a perilous journey to document endangered species, and instead find a different way to change the world.
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![Illustration of two young people lying in a canoe floating on the water. A green sprouting plant is in the corner of the canoe and reflections of buildlings are visible in the water. Their clothes are ragged and dirty, but their faces are serene and content.]()
![Illustration of two young people lying in a canoe floating on the water. A green sprouting plant is in the corner of the canoe and reflections of buildlings are visible in the water. Their clothes are ragged and dirty, but their faces are serene and content.]()
Plantains in Heaven
In an abandoned London hotel, a plant from another time sprouts.
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![Illustration shows a human figure laying in a curled position, surrounded by colorful butterflies and vines.]()
![Illustration shows a human figure laying in a curled position, surrounded by colorful butterflies and vines.]()
Tangles in the Weave
The time for Ever’s metamorphosis has arrived.
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![Illustration shows an Asian woman and a Latino man wearing dirt-covered work clothes, looking into each other's eyes. They are standing in a shed filled with round trays of green leaves and white worms, and white moths fly around their heads.]()
![Illustration shows an Asian woman and a Latino man wearing dirt-covered work clothes, looking into each other's eyes. They are standing in a shed filled with round trays of green leaves and white worms, and white moths fly around their heads.]()
The Ones Left Behind
In the backroom of a Sichuan restaurant, Grace tends to the family’s legacy and discovers a new beginning.
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![Illustration shows a young woman and an older man sitting near each other, surrounded by vegetation and insects. Their expressions and pose suggest worry or tension.]()
![Illustration shows a young woman and an older man sitting near each other, surrounded by vegetation and insects. Their expressions and pose suggest worry or tension.]()
This View From Here
As a young woman prepares to leave her small town, a fight with her father sheds light on their fears for the future.
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![Illustration shows a Black woman with green jewelry looking into a cracked mirror]()
![Illustration shows a Black woman with green jewelry looking into a cracked mirror]()
To Rescue a Self
At the Green Nigeria Youths Fellowship, Eketi tries to find her voice.
