Eco-fiction.com Announces Climate Change Story Winner
Artists and authors are among those working to send a message about climate change. Mary Woodbury, owner of Moon Willow Press–which promotes climate change literature and art at Eco-fiction.com–announces the results of a climate change short story contest, with Robert Sassor winning with his story “First Light”. The contest began in June and ended August 30, 2014.
Eco-fiction.com has cataloged climate change novels for over a year, creating a database of more than 220 novels (with more on the horizon) with eco-, science-, and speculative fiction that have environmental themes. It has also newly created an artists and authors discussion group at Google+. The climate change story event was its first contest, and the submissions were overwhelming. The rules were pretty simple: craft a short story about climate change. There were also language and word count guidelines. Sending a nature photo in established bonus points.
Mary said, “Out of dozens of entries, I selected just over 20 stories to be presented at the website in a multimedia presentation, which includes photos set to music. I was struck especially by Robert Sassor’s piece, though other stories by JL Morin, Craig Spence, Rachel May, Anneliese Schultz, and John Atcheson recieved an honorable mention. I also enjoyed reading climate stories from authors in other countries such as Spain, Germany, Nigeria, and Cambodia.” The final presentation started Saturday, September 27 at Eco-fiction.com/contest.
The contest is a collaboration with 100,000 Poets for Change, which happens in hundreds of cities simultaneously on September 27, bringing together poets, authors, and artists working for peace and sustainability. Mary has run the event in the past few years in Vancouver and has chosen projects such as an anti-pipeline poetry reading at the Carnegie Centre, a beach cleanup at False Creek, and an Earthwalk around Stanley Park. This year she opened the contest to Vancouver authors at first but decided that since climate change is a global problem, it would provide a more genuine perspective to allow everyone a chance to submit a short story.
The winner, Robert Sassor, from Portland, Oregon, said it was quite an honor to receive first prize. Robert studied English at Willamette University and has a history of incredible leadership in creative writing and environmental issues, including his work in conservation planning in Tanzania at the Jane Goodall Institute.
(Excerpted from Moon Willow Press and SustainableBusiness.com)
Such wonderful writing here! I am going to ration myself to one story per day, to better appreciate the literary quality, the depth, the subtle approaches to climate change, rather than ‘gorge’ on the whole group all at once.
Or maybe I am so gobsmacked by the winning story so beautifully written and set in Alaska…haunting in all the best ways…that I can’t force myself to just keep reading at the moment. I am now going to post this link on Facebook in hopes of getting more readers for such good writers as are listed here.