Speculative Worldbuilding Amid the Climate Crisis

At this event, organized by the research project at the Neubauer Collegium, visiting writer Matt Bell will discuss his experiences as an author and critic in the emerging genre of climate fiction, drawing on examples from science fiction, fantasy, and other literary genres. As Amitav Ghosh wrote, “The climate crisis is also a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination" – and so the climate crisis must also require imaginative approaches and solutions. What new art forms or story shapes or philosophies or other intellectual technologies might we invent to help us make a better future together?

A livestream of this event will be available .

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Matt Bell is the author most recently of the novel (a New York Times notable book) and the craft book , a guide to novel writing, rewriting, and revision. He is also the author of the novels and , as well as the short story collection , a nonfiction book about the classic video game , and several other titles. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, Tin House, Fairy Tale Review, American Short Fiction, Orion,and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he teaches creative writing at Arizona State University.

IMAGE: Detail of Appleseed book cover, courtesy of the author.

Host or Publisher Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society | University of Chicago