The 2024 Imagine climate fiction contest
12 brand-new climate fiction short stories feature vivid, hope-filled, diverse visions of climate progress. Discover this year's winning stories now.
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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![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]()
![Grid of four Imagine 2200 story illustrations for]()
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 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.
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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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![A futuristically dressed Black woman holds a basket of fruit and looks down at a picnic scene below. Wind turbines float in the air and a city can be seen in the distance.]()
![A futuristically dressed Black woman holds a basket of fruit and looks down at a picnic scene below. Wind turbines float in the air and a city can be seen in the distance.]()
Imagine 2200: The 2022 collection
Read the winning stories from our second-annual short story contest, envisioning the next 180 years of equitable climate progress.
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![Illustration of woman crying, surrounded by bioluminescent flowers]()
![Illustration of woman crying, surrounded by bioluminescent flowers]()
And Now the Shade
A bioengineer grappling with a challenging problem finds the answer in the dreams of her dying grandmother.
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![Illustration made up of sunset scenes depicting a flood, birds in sky, hands holding soil, a brother and sister sitting in grass, and a seedling popping out of the ground.]()
![Illustration made up of sunset scenes depicting a flood, birds in sky, hands holding soil, a brother and sister sitting in grass, and a seedling popping out of the ground.]()
The Florida Project
A set of adult twins return to their Gulf Coast hometown to rewild the land, and remember the family who came before them.
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![Illustration of reindeer on cliff with colorful swirls exploding from a powerful stomp]()
![Illustration of reindeer on cliff with colorful swirls exploding from a powerful stomp]()
Secret Powers
In land once claimed by Russia, a magical deer joins a young girl as she grows up and changes her land for the better.
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![Illustration of older woman walking through a sunlit forest, followed by a shell-like drone]()
![Illustration of older woman walking through a sunlit forest, followed by a shell-like drone]()
A Holdout in the Northern California Designated Wildcraft Zone
An inquisitive drone responsible for protecting a forest ecosystem stumbles upon a surprise deep in the woods.
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![Illustration of mother and child on flying train, passing over an overgrown highway]()
![Illustration of mother and child on flying train, passing over an overgrown highway]()
Benni and Shiya Are Leaving
A mother and her teenager navigate the challenges of moving to a new community and starting a new life.
