I wasn’t intending to post about this quite so soon, but the table of contents for Shoreline of Infinity‘s Climate Change issue just came out, and… Holy shit! Is that my name next to Kim Stanley Robinson‘s?
Let’s back up a bit.
‘Letter To A Future Architect’, my next Noise and Sparks column, is about the notion of responsibility in writing and how this applies to climate fiction (and speculative fiction in general, really). This is a topic that occupies my mind to a somewhat unhealthy degree at times (neurodiversity FTW), so it’s as much an attempt to clarify my own feelings about bearing the weight and what we do when we take part in the creative community. I know I’ve spoken before about how I feel I’ve leveled up with my columns over the last year or so, but it’s nice to see that trend continuing. Thanks as ever to my editor Pippa Goldschmidt for her encouragement on this one.
The upcoming Climate Change issue (#36, if you’re counting) is a bit of a special one, kickstartered (yes, I’m making it a verb) and co-edited by the fabulous Lyndsey Croal. Other names involved include Rhiannon Grist, Somto Ihezue, Andrew Knight, Kelley Tai, Vincent Kings and many more, so you know this one is going to be good. Click here for the full contributors list. It also has a Q&A with Kim Stanley Robinson by Lyndsey herself. I’ve heard him speak at length about climate fiction and the creative’s work, most recently at the What IF workshops at the University of Queensland, so I’m expecting this to be just as thought-provoking.
So, Kim Stanley Robinson and I are sharing a TOC. Much as I don’t want to mark my career progression solely by whose name I can drop, isn’t that a cool thing?
More on preorders and things when I have it. UPDATE: Pre-orders are available now! Issue #36 will be out on 28th September.
In other news, last week Charly Harbord and I found out that the Fantasy and Gaming Special Issue of the British Fantasy Society Journal we co-edited should be out in September. I’ve sold a new short story, which should be out next Summer. And I’m hoping to make it to Fantasycon in Birmingham in September. So, if that happens, I’ll have plenty to talk about. Fingers crossed.