Authors
Gabriela Houston
Gabriela Houston is a London-based writer. She was born in Poland and raised in a book-loving household on the nourishing diet of mythologies, classics and graphic novels. She had spent much of her early school years holed up in the library, only feeling truly herself in the company of Jack London’s trappers and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s red-headed orphan, among many others. She came to the UK at 19 to follow her passion for literature and she completed her undergraduate and Masters degrees at Royal Holloway, University of London. After her studies, she worked in publishing for a few years. She now lives with her family in Harrow, where she pursues her life-long passion for making stuff up. She’s the author of Slavic-folklore-inspired novels for adults (The Second Bell, out from Angry Robot Books) and children (The Wind Child, out from Uclan Publishing).
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will bemitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
I think undue optimism is what got us to this point. The catastrophe is already way on its way and we're in denial about it. I believe humanity will adapt to an extent, but those living in the most underdeveloped places in the world, while having contributed the least to what's happening, will as usual suffer the most.
To answer the first question, this issue gives me a fair bit of anxiety. I want my kids to have a better future than what we're currently creating for them.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
I hope they like it enough to have their own interpretation and thoughts about it.Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does thisdiffer from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
I don't like moralising fiction. Good writing doesn't have to hammer down a point. The message/values should be evident in the storyline itself. That is also I think the most effective way of getting the reader to engage with the ideas behind the story. Nothing worse than author self-inserts.
Is there an opinion / fact / idea about climate change that you don’t think is talked about enough?What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
We should expect a lot more of the leaders we elect. The time when business concerns had the front seat to the decision making process on climate change/environment has to be over now. We know, for example, that we shouldn't use single-use plastics in food packaging. Yet years on, they still get produced. Why are we collectively allowing this kind of inertia?
We get so divided on frankly stupid issues that we lose track of what's important. The lack of dialogue, self-righteous indignation, none of it is productive. Collective action and thoughtful communication, considering others' concerns is the key.
Mark Kirkbride
Mark Kirkbride lives in Shepperton. He is the author of The Plot Against Heaven, Game Changers of the Apocalypse and Satan’s Fan Club. Game Changers of the Apocalypse was a semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Awards 2019. His short stories have appeared in Under the Bed, Sci Phi Journal, Disclaimer Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, Titanic Terastructures and So It Goes: The Literary Journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. Poetry credits include Neon, the London Reader, the Big Issue, the Morning Star, the Daily Mirror, Sein und Werden and Horror Writers Association chapbooks. He works as a lecturer and as a subtitling editor, which he describes as watching TV under pressure.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
Frustrating conversations with climate-change deniers of various stripes (it’s not happening/there’s nothing to worry about/there’s nothing we can do about it), whether simply fooling themselves or trying to fool others, provided the impetus for the story. I wondered how bad things would have to get before even a climate-change denier would have to admit that there actually is a problem.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
I did have another story in reserve, just in case. It questioned attitudes to migration patterns across Europe by reversing the direction of the flow of people and took in climate change as one of the destabilising factors.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
I am confident that the climate will force us to address the issue with the seriousness it deserves (with action rather than words) but whether enough countries will act in consort and in time is doubtful. So at the moment I probably have more faith in science and technology than individual leaders and my hunch is that we’ll probably just about scrape through to a liveable future on earth thanks to something like carbon-capture technology coming to our rescue.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
Ideally, I would like readers to be entertained by a piece of counterfactual fiction but ultimately I wanted to try and puncture the absurdity of climate-change denial.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
That’s a really interesting question. I think fiction about climate change inevitably comes with a message or moral, yet still has to work as fiction.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
What concerns me the most is the sliding scale of potential catastrophe. What interests me is the control we have over that sliding scale. Everything is achievable… if we can manage to prioritise long-term survival over short-term self-interest (see above).
What would you like our leaders to focus on?
I would like our leaders to maximise use of renewable energy (wind, wave and solar). It’s clean, affordable, and not at the mercy of despots or doubling price caps. I would also like to see a much greater emphasis on carbon capture (starting with concerted reforesting).
Nadine Dalton-West
Nadine Dalton-West is the author of BFS award-shortlisted ‘The Women’s Song’ (in the Fight Like a Girl collection), ‘Rusalka’ (in The Book of Orm), ‘The House in Brooklyn’ (in The Book of Witches) and ‘Divine Right’ (in The Book of Demons), all published by Kristell Ink. She is learning to play the cello, and is happiest near animals or large bodies of water. She is on Twitter and Instagram as @andiekarenina.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
I was very interested in the ways in which children perceive the world around them as "normal", even in extreme circumstances, and I enjoy stories where a naive narrator provides world-building through their own earnest and unquestioning observations: Ariadna's enthusiastic voice in the midst of what the reader perceives as horrific circumstances was an exciting challenge!
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
No, very unusually for me! The necessary bleakness of much of the possible subject-matter acted as something of an inspiration-dampener. It took a bit of internal wrestling to get started and to lean into something much more horrific and definitely outside my comfort zone.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
Writing in the summer of 2022, not long after the air thickened with the smoke from the wildfires that encircled London on a 40 degree day, I must confess to pessimism. Political short-termism makes it impossible to be honest with the public about the hard, challenging changes that could make a difference, and people are reluctant to change their lifestyles and confront the fact that we cannot continue blithely with our early-2000s levels of consumption, global travel and luxuries. The absolute absence of global cooperation - and the absence of geopolitical will to focus on the issue - leaves little room for optimism.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
Perhaps that there will still be something of the human spirit that will sustain curiosity, hopefulness and a sense of possibility, but also that we cannot destroy species and ecosystems and expect science to provide a magical, shiny "fix" once we have broken down our ecology beyond repair.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
Absolutely not! I think that we can, as writers, inhabit dystopian spaces without imposing solutions or ideological positions on them. Sometimes it's just fun to see "what if...the last humans escaped Earth to inhabit a biodome on Mars", or "what if...our story begins in new subterranean cities where humanity has retreated to escape the heat". These landscapes can be places to play! But the dystopia will almost certainly ask questions of the reader, even if it refrains from moralising. After all, Orwell's 1984 ends in the absolute triumph of authoritarianism, and offers no didactic lesson, but it certainly makes us scrutinise our own society for clues as to how we might inadvertently give away our democratic freedoms.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
My greatest concern is the possibility of a climate refugee crisis the like of which we simply cannot comprehend. What interests me is the possibility of innovating some solutions or mitigations which bring together science and human problem-solving ingenuity on a huge scale: after all, the cauldron of WW2 led to the Enigma Machine and the Turing-Welchman Bombe, the forerunners of modern computing as we know it. Pressure can make diamonds!
What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
I would like to remove from our public discourse the idea that investing in renewable energy, divesting from fossil fuels and promoting energy use reduction, etc is somehow a "woke" frippery that panders to a handful of vegan absolutists in Shoreditch, and is a conspiracy against "hard-working ordinary people." It is both a lie and an ideological poison. I would like leaders from across the political spectrum to explain, with focus and clarity, that change is both necessary and filled with opportunity! What's the worst that could happen? We become leaders in green technology, create jobs across the country in green tech and manufacturing, improve public infrastructure and public health, and become energy-self-sufficient: oh no! Sounds DREADFUL. Sign me up!
A J Dalton
A J Dalton (the ‘A’ is for Adam) is a prize-winning author of science fiction and fantasy. He has published thirteen books to date, including The Book of Orm, The Book of Angels, The Book of Dragons, The Book of Witches, The Book of Demons and The Book of the Dead with Kristell Ink, the Empire of the Saviours trilogy with Gollancz, I am a Small God with Admanga Publishing, and The Satanic in Science Fiction and Fantasy with Luna Press Publishing.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
As an established fantasy writer (www.ajdalton.eu), I’ve always pondered including unicorns in a narrative in a way that wasn’t silly and naff, in a way that was grounded and ‘real-world’. It was the climate change agenda (with the mass extinction of species, etc) that finally gave me a context in which I could get the motif of the unicorn plausibly included, albeit via dream, vision, symbolism, denial and delusion.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
Hmm. Well, as you can tell from the previous answer, my concern is about plausibility as a writer of fantasy, sci-fi and horror. That makes the writing more relatable, impactful and compelling. I don’t struggle with ideas about what’s wrong with today’s world – not at all. It’s all right in front of us. Besides, there’s a nifty ideas’ shop on the corner of Compton Street that I always visit.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
The evidence of climate change’s escalation is all around us. Half of the world is on fire half the time. I think that answers the question, no?
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
That the solution to climate change isn’t as simple as devising a mechanistic or technical process. We also need to change our moral and emotional priorities, not to mention behaviours, as a whole society. Yes, society is made up of individuals, but social change only happens when the right individuals manage to change. Yes, I’m talking about our politicians here, who pay plenty of lip service to climate change but little else.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
It should have an implicit message, but not a dogmatic or explicit one. Why? Cos people don’t like being told off or being told what to do, that’s why.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
English wine is far better than it used to be. Hurrah! Tip: see the beginning of the movie Interstellar if you want to understand our future.
Is there an opinion / fact / idea about climate change that you don’t think is talked about enough? What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
Our leaders have this idea that starting a colony on the moon or another planet will some how let us start again once we’ve destroyed Earth through our irresponsible management of its climate. Idiots. Do they really think we’ll learn our lesson once this planet has been destroyed? Or will we just take our problems with us to the moon and other planets, in turn to destroy them as well? I think we all know the answer to that. I really like the Verhoeven movie Starship Troopers, in which the bug planet looks to wipe out humanity. Perhaps the bugs had the right idea. Are we sure we deserve to survive?
J.McDonald
J.McDonald is a vegan who enjoys literally hugging trees. After completing an MA in Novel Writing, this author created “Upon Reflection” featured in Book of Demons, “A Wake” published in Book of the Dead, and “Pis Aller” found in Last Horizon.
Having been fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by the natural beauty of Canada, J.McDonald strives to protect the environment through as many small, seemingly inconsequential, ways as possible.
You may notice that all of this author’s pieces are told from a first-person perspective and include no explicit statement of the narrator’s gender or physical description. This is purposefully done to allow the reader to choose the gender and overall appearance of the main character for themselves. It also illustrates that surface appearance is not what matters. What is important are the thoughts, actions, experiences, and feelings of the person beneath.
For more works by J.McDonald, visit JMcDonaldWorks.com or check out @j.mcdonaldworks on Instagram.
Image by Zaur Ibrahimov on Unsplash.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
I’d been planning on writing a story that took place in the future for some time now. I’d wanted to explore a society that had moved beyond so many of the divisions that exist today. When I was asked to imagine a post-apocalyptic world, I knew that my opportunity had arrived.
While trying to imagine where these people would live, I was struck by the cold, almost clinical environment that futuristic advanced societies are frequently portrayed in. Instead, I wanted my characters to be surrounded by life. The purpose of Pis Aller was to provide an arc of sorts and I didn’t think that the species being carried on should be restricted to cryochambers and Petri dishes.
Once I had my location, I used my experience as a former teacher to reimagine how people of the future would be educated. Instead of focusing on cold data, they would also learn through storytelling and experiences. I believe that we need both to truly understand any concept and fully comprehend its value. I think this is part of what is holding us back today. People struggle to conceptualize the impacts of the planet warming or habitats being destroyed. If we could place ourselves in the shoes/paws/claws/fins of others, we would be much quicker to act and take the necessary steps to undo our mistakes.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
I was lucky. Pis Aller was the first idea that popped into my head when I was asked to join the Last Horizon project. The world quickly took shape and I’m hoping to explore it further in a longer piece in the future.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
I’m incredibly concerned about climate change. We just need to look out the window to see the impact it’s already having on our world, and things will only continue to get worse. The time for gradual change has long passed and we must take intensive action if we hope to survive, both as a species and a planet. We must push ourselves out of our comfort zones and do what is necessary instead of what is easy.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
I’d like readers to remember that our actions never merely impact ourselves. They have consequences and repercussions that ripple outwards. We exist in a closed system, and it is only by working together that we can hope to repair the damage that’s been done.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
For me, all fiction has a message — whether it’s intentional or not. Each reader will draw their own connections to a text and come to a unique interpretation based on their experiences and schema. An author can aim to convey a specific message, but it is only the reader who can actually create it.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
My concern is the impact we have on all of those who have no choice in the matter. The other species we share our planet with, and the humans of the future, have no option but to use what we leave behind.
Is there an opinion / fact / idea about climate change that you don’t think is talked about enough? What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
I am by no means an expert on our environment, our planet, or what is the “right way”. However, I think the time for talking and thinking is past us. It’s now the time for action. We need a lot of drastic changes, and we need them immediately. Our leaders need to listen to the scientists and environmentalists and turn their insights into policies and practices.
Boe Huntress
Boe Huntress is a writer, performer and creative mentor living in London. As the ‘Artist in Residence’ for five years at Union Chapel, voted London’s favourite venue in Time Out, Boe created a number of immersive mixed-genre shows. Boe is currently working on her first novel, having completed an MA in Creative Writing at Middlesex University. She’s been published in ‘Dancing with the Birdman’ a short story collection by Exeter Writers, as well as releasing a number of albums and EPs as a songwriter, and playing live on Whispering Bob Harris’ BBC Radio 2 folk show. In her spare time, Boe enjoys collecting and cooking with seaweed!
Michael Conroy
Michael Conroy is a British writer fleeing debt and scandal, on the continent. His current work in progress is a novel about Italy, China, and SARS. Visit his website for information on editing and copywriting services.
Matt Beeson
Matt Beeson (he/him) is father to Brandon, husband to Nola; these are the things that he knows for certain. He is a professional risk consultant, primarily occupied with preventing things from burning down or blowing up. Over the last ten years his focus has been on the clean energy transition. His previous work (not including technical reports and papers) can be found in the Book of Witches and the Book of Demons. The Last Horizon is his first attempt at supporting the editing and compilation process. In his spare time he likes to read lots of things – his tastes are eclectic – while sitting, preferably. Sometimes just sitting will do. He was once a musician and hopes to be one again someday. Until then there is always chocolate and coffee. He is occasionally to be found on Twitter (@Phaeduck).
David Perryman
David Perryman is a husband, father, educator and creator of games. He teaches people how to understand people, how to make games and how to drive narrowboats. David has many published poems and short stories here and there, and even a guide on how to win at one of his games. His writing style is influenced by hard sci-fi and comedy fantasy. One day he’ll write a whole novel, just as soon as people no longer need help with the canal lock outside his house.
Joe Smith
Joe Smith lives in Northamptonshire with his wife and three children. He doesn’t have any pets — not because he doesn’t like animals, but because pets are not permitted under section 12a of his so-called ‘tenancy agreement’. When not writing, he is working towards a PhD in Creative Writing at Middlesex University, or staring wistfully out of the window at the family next door rolling around their lawn with their Golden Retriever and laughing — in his opinion — excessively.
Amie Angèle Brochu
Amie Angèle Brochu has over 15 years of direct social and residential care experience working with vulnerable populations in mental health, education and the non-profit sector. She is currently a sessional lecturer with the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University in Atlantic Canada. From a young age, stories of wizardry and magic have captivated her. Amie is currently undertaking a PhD at Middlesex University London, UK exploring the progressive potential of fantasy literature in fostering a liminal space contributing to individual, collective and social transformation. When Amie is not researching, writing or teaching she enjoys beachcombing, live theatre, and exploring historical medieval sites. You can usually find her writing in her favourite Muskoka chair with a glass of bubble tea.
Matt Ryder
Matt Ryder is a champion of eccentricity, more so with each passing year. He claims he remembers his time in the womb and compares the experience to living in an MRI scanner for nine months. He insists that he is a published author and that the ten line poem selected for his school’s anthology ‘most definitely counts’. Once a globetrotter on a mission to discover the planet’s most succulent protein (it’s snake), Matt currently lives in London with his wife and two sons.
Huw James
Huw James is a Brit, living in Ireland for most of his adult life, with his partner and too many cats. When not busy doomscrolling, he would be either gardening or spending excessive time playing video or board games with other humans.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
Doomscrolling through climate change articles.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
I wrote a couple of first drafts for stories I wasn’t happy with. One from the perspective of a cat, post-collapse. It was a bit darker than Gabriella’s and involved human cannibalism, guns, and an epic chase scene down a drying river bed towards a flooded town. I also had a tale about a family from now until post-collapse in their high tech home, from the perspective of a smart-fridge. In the end I settled on a more doomer/prepper-oriented story, which came together when I introduced the photographs in the second draft. I omitted many aspects of climate change from the story such as collapsing insect populations, and changing water tables, as it feels alarmist to highlight every danger we are facing and I felt it may be overwhelming to fit everything in.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
I feel pretty bleak to be honest. Seeing temperatures in Europe which were called alarmist in 2014 when they were proposed as possible temperatures we could see in 2050, actually arriving in 2022.
Also seeing the Po river in Italy drying up, as well as more recently the Yangtze in China, are hugely worrying.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
People need to think long term, and they need to pressure their elected representatives to do the same. I touch on politicians only caring about matters in the election cycle and not focusing on long term issues that will impact people for years to come, and it’s important to make sure we are moving forward with a long term perspective.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
No. I think people need to be aware of climate change, but fiction is personal and shouldn’t be caged-in just because the theme is important.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
I’m mostly concerned about CO2 raising ocean acidity which will drive extinction of the majority of sea-life, as well as entire countries becoming uninhabitable due to temperature increase, storm severity, and rising sea-levels.
I’m interested in whether we will see politicians commit to doing anything to actually tackle it, as we haven’t seen anything really outside theatre so far.
Is there an opinion / fact / idea about climate change that you don’t think is talked about enough? What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
Climate refugees. If areas become uninhabitable, where will the people go? What plans are in place to rehouse the displaced?
Gabriel Wisdom
Gabriel Wisdom is a money manager, pilot, former radio disc-jockey, and a fiction writer, Gabriel’s writing credits include Wisdom on Value Investing, published by John Wiley & Sons, and Demon Rock, a speculative fiction thriller that takes place at the world’s largest free-standing boulder which split apart in February, 2000. For Last Horizon, his short story, Ancient Dreams, is a techno-thriller about a dormant virus discovered in the melting Siberian permafrost. Wisdom’s eco-adventure novel, Salton Sea Tales (2023), is part of a PhD in Creative Writing under the supervision of Dr. A. J. Dalton at Middlesex University, London.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
I’d read that as an unintended consequence of global warming, five ancient virus strains, each estimated at 30,000 years old, have been found in the melting Siberian permafrost. Researchers worry that reawakening these infectious microbes could be trouble.
Armed with these recent scientific findings, I wanted to write a ‘what-if’ thriller. In my short story, those who became infected eventually recover, with one lingering side-effect; while dreaming, they recall traumatic ancestral events, which have passed from generation to generation via cellular memory…
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
I’ve been fascinated with the unintended consequences of climate change mitigation. For example, will we inadvertently displace the ecological balance to satisfy the growing demand for lithium, copper, and other EV manufacturing components? To preserve our underground aquifers, larger heat pumps are required to drive desalination and water recycling plants.
My fictional short-story examines the battle between ancient pathogens and their human hosts, a very real unintended consequence of global warming.
Jodie Hammond
Jodie Hammond is a first-time writer who is eager to see where this adventure takes her. She is currently participating in this project and another which she is very excited about. Jodie was born and raised in Camden, London. She still lives in the area with her family, her cat, Mog-Mog, and her tortoise, Hissy. Jodie has always been passionate about writing and reading from an early age. She graduated from Middlesex University with a First in BA English in 2021 and is currently studying MA Novel Writing at the same institution. She aspires to go into the world of publishing once she has finished her studies. If you want to keep up to date with Jodie and her projects, please visit her
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
When the collection was first mentioned to me, my mind went straight to wildfires because they are becoming a more common occurrence in naturally hot countries. The cases that sprang to mind immediately were the recent wildfires of Greece, California, and Australia. All the fires left countries in a state of devastation with family homes and memories lost in a matter of hours. In more tragic circumstances, lives were lost at the hands of these wildfires.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
After reading multiple articles on each of these cases, my mind never changed from writing a piece about wildfires. I wanted my piece to show the tragic consequences that wildfires have on humanity. The reason my mind was never swayed was because I kept seeing the wildfires on the news and on all my social medias. By seeing these distressing stories almost everywhere, I felt like I had to write about them.
During my researching period, I looked at many images that accompanied news articles of multiple wildfires in order to fully describe what the fires looked like, and how they destroyed the land and nature around them.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
I want readers to understand the climate change is very real and is affecting our home, Earth, right now. I would also like them to think about how wildfires are more common now due to the rising temperatures and lack of rainfall. But with small little changes, I hope that we can help slow the effects that climate change is having on our planet.
It isn’t a myth; climate change is very real.
Do you feel that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a message or a moral? Does this differ from your feelings about fiction in a more general sense?
I don’t believe that fiction inspired by climate change has to have a moral, but I believe that that a message is subconsciously made within the piece, whether the writer intended it or not. Before I wrote for this collection, I would read romance and horror for the emotions that they evoke from me. However, now that I have written this piece and have read other pieces of cli-fi, I see the common message of ‘this could happen if we do not consider our actions on the environment’. Thus, I think that pieces about climate change show readers what could happen due to humanity’s careless action. I also hope that the readers see these messages as a sign to make small changes to their everyday lives.
What concerns / interests you most about climate change?
As of recently, drought was officially declared across parts of the UK in the August of 2022. This surprised me as I never thought a country like the UK would ever have a drought. I have always seen the UK as a country notorious for grey skies and a good amount of rain. But with the rising temperatures that the Earth is experiencing, and the lack of rainfall, it is not surprising at all. But it was this breaking news that made me realise that climate change is affecting the countries that are not known for their tropical climates.
What left me utterly speechless about this news was the satellite images that showed how dry the UK is this year. The dry, brown scenes were shocking, especially around the capital.
Here is the link to the news article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/19/why-areas-uk-drought-visual-guide
Stephen Beeson
Stephen Beeson spent his working life helping Massey Ferguson make tractors but has since retired to a life of watching sports and completing Times Crosswords. At time of writing, he has completed 55 consecutively. He is father to two and grandfather to three, some of whom are involved in writing and editing this book. He and Anne – his partner in all things – play folk music more often than is strictly healthy, and retirement has seen his impressive collection of musical instruments develop significantly. He doesn’t do Twitter and his Facebook is largely devoted to plugging the folk club he frequents to perform on the third Wednesday of every month. He has always been a prolific songwriter, growing up to the sounds of the Beatles. He also writes the occasional story.
Jamie Bear
Jamie lives in the countryside and is a passionate vegan. She loves animals and dedicates a large portion of her time to reading. Eventually she would like to own a ranch and rescue animals from slaughter.
John J Ernest
John J Ernest is an aspiring fantasy author, he spends his days editing video for daytime tv, and squeezing in the odd hour of writing on his debut novel “A fire in the night”. When he’s not escaping to other realms, John likes to walk around the green spaces of North London, where he lives. His short “The Devil’s Tongue” was published in “The Book of Demons” in 2021 (under the name JES Simpson). Tweet him @Geeksimpson or read some of his shorts on JJERNEST.COM where he intermittently posts updates on the progress of his writing.
What inspired your short story for the Last Horizon collection?
My Short “Charli” was inspired by a holiday to San Francisco a long time ago. I don't do well in the heat, and I remember on one particularly hot day thinking that it was only going to get worse, and eventually I’d end up living underground or in a dome.
I like the idea of large steel and glass structures that would allow us to see the sky but be protected at the same time.
Did you have many ideas when starting the Last Horizon project?
I had several ideas when i was first asked to contribute to The last Horizon. I fleshed a couple of them out, but something about Charli just resonated with me.
How do you feel about climate change? Do you feel confident that the worst effects will be mitigated? How optimistic do you feel about our climate future?
My feelings on climate change are apprehensive, to say the least. I’m usually optimistic but currently find it hard to see the human race working together to fix the problem. The planet will survive, not so sure about us.
What would you like readers to take away from your piece for the Last Horizon?
I’d like readers to take a sense of optimism away from Charli, that we will survive one way or another, adaptation is what we do after all. But I would also like to think it in stills a certain realism, the world is never going to be the same, and how different, or inhospitable it becomes, depends entirely on our actions now.
Is there an opinion / fact / idea about climate change that you don’t think is talked about enough?What would you like our leaders to spend more time talking (and thinking) about?
Meet The Stories
Matt Beeson offers a rounded (but occasionally sweary!) take on climate change in an entertaining introduction, considering four key Axioms:
Climate change is not a ___ problem, it’s a human one!
Telling the stories of climate change is important.
There is nothing more human than the telling of stories.
It’s ok to know the right thing and not be able to do it right now. You can still aspire to it!
Buy Now
Humanity is at a crossroads’ could be the start of any number of science fiction stories. Unfortunately for humanity, as a cursory google of the phrase will reveal, we appear to be living through our very own science fiction story. The decisions that individuals, communities, and nations make now will have a profound effect on our future.