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 towards a better reality.
Explore past winners and collections
Latest climate fiction stories
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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 is a backdrop of palm trees and lightning with driving rain. An inset box shows a family sitting together by candlelight. An older woman rests her head on the shoulder of a man. A woman reads to a young girl. In the foreground, a young woman looks out of frame.]()
![Illustration is a backdrop of palm trees and lightning with driving rain. An inset box shows a family sitting together by candlelight. An older woman rests her head on the shoulder of a man. A woman reads to a young girl. In the foreground, a young woman looks out of frame.]()
The Isle of Beautiful Waters
Storytelling traditions connect a Caribbean family as they prepare to shelter from an oncoming storm.
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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.
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![Illustration shows two people looking out over a rundown city street with neon Korean signs and a deep ravine running through the center]()
![Illustration shows two people looking out over a rundown city street with neon Korean signs and a deep ravine running through the center]()
We Cast Our Eyes to the Unknowable Now
Deep in the fissures that plague Koreatown, Christina’s search for her sister reveals something new.
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The future needs cultures
Imagine 2200’s creative director reflects on the importance of depicting culturally-rich futures and engaging writers around the world in creating climate fiction.
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![An illustration of a woman surrounded by sand and scattered belongings. Above, a glass roof has shattered.]()
![An illustration of a woman surrounded by sand and scattered belongings. Above, a glass roof has shattered.]()
Who Walks With You
Ysolt awakes after a freak storm to find herself at the bottom of a ravine in the broken remains of the nomadic home that was supposed to protect her.
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![Illustration shows a brightly colored, cluttered garage and two women working on a red car. A rainbow flag hangs on the window, and a sign above the garage reads]()
![Illustration shows a brightly colored, cluttered garage and two women working on a red car. A rainbow flag hangs on the window, and a sign above the garage reads]()
Request for Support: Hot Mamas Garage
A funding proposal for an EV retrofit shop opens old wounds as a family reexamines their troubled history.
