Read the latest Imagine 2200 short story
In "It Takes a Full Bus," a hitchhiker stranded far from home gets onto a bus full of passengers who all have somewhere to be.
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. Learn more about Imagine →
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Latest climate fiction stories
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![Illustration of a bowl of yellow cabbage curry on a purple table in front of family photographs depicting mothers and daughters]()
![Illustration of a bowl of yellow cabbage curry on a purple table in front of family photographs depicting mothers and daughters]()
Cabbage Koora: A Prognostic Autobiography
Across generations and a changing world, an Indian family preserves its traditions through food, dance, and the latest communication fads.
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![An abstract ilustration depicts hands lemerging from a foamy sea, lifting up a small white boat with a figure inside]()
![An abstract ilustration depicts hands lemerging from a foamy sea, lifting up a small white boat with a figure inside]()
A Gift of Coconuts
A family races against time to prepare their coconut farm for a massive storm surge.
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![In an illustration, two people stand next to a body of water. A ship is beached in the background.]()
![In an illustration, two people stand next to a body of water. A ship is beached in the background.]()
Gifts We Give to the Sea
A mother must come to terms with her child's identity, her husband's passing, and the changing landscape of their community.
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![Abstract illustration of two hands made of swirling blue and pink colors, with a small blue and white marble suspended above them]()
![Abstract illustration of two hands made of swirling blue and pink colors, with a small blue and white marble suspended above them]()
The Imperfect Blue Marble
In a culture where a child's first word takes on great meaning, a nonverbal child shows his compassion beyond words.
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![An illustration depicts a small house sitting on the edge of a pond in an overgrown forest at sunset. The abstract shape of a young girl's face is visible in the sky.]()
![An illustration depicts a small house sitting on the edge of a pond in an overgrown forest at sunset. The abstract shape of a young girl's face is visible in the sky.]()
The Long In-Between
A father's effort to honor his daughter’s memory through a rewilding project collides with his neighbor’s conventional farming practices.
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![Abstract illustration of a woman with water swirling around her]()
![Abstract illustration of a woman with water swirling around her]()
La Sirène
On a submarine housing children born with a genetic mutation, people of faith wrestle with the sin of causing an ecological disaster.
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![Illustration of a person with curly hair surrounded by a halo of swirling colors, looking out over a desert-scape]()
![Illustration of a person with curly hair surrounded by a halo of swirling colors, looking out over a desert-scape]()
Stasis
A desert dweller undergoes a rapid and enlightening metamorphosis to survive the seasonal migration.
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![Abstract illustration of a person looking up amidst underwater plants, with whales in the background]()
![Abstract illustration of a person looking up amidst underwater plants, with whales in the background]()
The power of climate fiction and the ethos of Imagine 2200
A note from Grist's Imagine 2200 creative manager on the importance of hopeful, authentic climate fiction storytelling.
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![Illustration in dark, muted colors shows a man and a woman standing outside a run down building covered in vines]()
![Illustration in dark, muted colors shows a man and a woman standing outside a run down building covered in vines]()
When We Are Ruins, Dance on Us
It’s been over a century since anyone has stepped foot in the former Supreme Court of Singapore. The building isn’t pleased.
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![An illustration shows a teen girl dressed in 1960s attire, with '60s memorabilia around her. In the foreground, her father looks back at her with concern. In the background, dilapidated houses are swallowed by the sea.]()
![An illustration shows a teen girl dressed in 1960s attire, with '60s memorabilia around her. In the foreground, her father looks back at her with concern. In the background, dilapidated houses are swallowed by the sea.]()
Replay Boomer
With climate change making the future look bleak, a father struggles to understand his teen’s participation in a movement of young people intent on reliving the past.
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![An illustration with a soft color palette. A Black man in the water wrestles with a sturgeon fish in a net. A white man looks on from a boat.]()
![An illustration with a soft color palette. A Black man in the water wrestles with a sturgeon fish in a net. A white man looks on from a boat.]()
You Only Love Rivers That Kill You
Two young men navigate grief and rivers in a Kansas City that is showing signs of healing from climate change, toxic contamination, and racism.
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![Grid of four Imagine 2200 story illustrations for "The Metamorphosis of Marie Martin," "The Secrets of the Last Greenland Shark," "Afterglow," and "And Now the Shade."]()
![Grid of four Imagine 2200 story illustrations for "The Metamorphosis of Marie Martin," "The Secrets of the Last Greenland Shark," "Afterglow," and "And Now the Shade."]()
Listen: Climate fiction to imagine a better world
Immerse yourself in these short audio cli-fi stories, from our Imagine 2200 initiative, and find hope in unexpected places.
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![Illustration of a young South Asian man holding an antique brass horn that once was mounted on a ship. He stands against a vibrant backdrop of swirling colors.]()
![Illustration of a young South Asian man holding an antique brass horn that once was mounted on a ship. He stands against a vibrant backdrop of swirling colors.]()
Sweet Water From Salt
A grieving son protects his family’s beehives as he steers them home aboard his parents’ ship.
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![Illustration of a young Maori man sitting on the roof of a shipping container home.]()
![Illustration of a young Maori man sitting on the roof of a shipping container home.]()
Starlight Is Kinda Bright
On the day he is to marry, the son of a Māori chief questions his place in his community.
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![Illustration of a man on a jet ski. He is looking at a faded pink hotel that just pokes up above the water's surface.]()
![Illustration of a man on a jet ski. He is looking at a faded pink hotel that just pokes up above the water's surface.]()
Ocean Bikies Take Cyclone Season
Despite rising seas, a band of coastal-dwelling Goori honor their traditions surfing monster waves.
