The world is getting hotter and fiction writers’ responses to environmental and climate change are heating up too. While not a new genre, its rise can be dated to the 1960s and 1970s, more and more novels and non-fiction works now deal with the impact of this climate crisis. Eco-fiction is on the rise, let’s explore this literary response to the environmental crisis we are currently facing.
Although you are not likely to find a space in a bookstore labelled ‘eco-fiction,’ there is a definite trend for writers to react to what we are witnessing by exploring it in fiction. Eco-fiction focuses on nature and environmental themes, as the name suggests. Nature itself often becomes a central character in eco-fiction, with authors personifying landscapes, plants and animals. Eco-fiction sometimes incorporates elements of science fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy. The genre addresses a wide range of ecological concerns, including climate change, pollution, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and sustainable living. Continue reading from NowNovel
