Hopepunk is more a vibe than a genre. Solarpunk is hopepunk’s climate-conscious cousin. Come learn about these fresh new genres, how they’re challenging the “status quo” way we tell stories with new structures like Heroine’s Journey, team casts rather than lone heroes, and radical compassion and cooperation as problem-solving techniques.
Suggested readings/viewings: (optional — not required for the workshop but will give you some genre examples)
-- Solarpunk Drabble by Danielle Arostegui (microfiction): https://grist.org/looking-forward/climate-fiction-drabbles-our-future-in-100-words/
-- To Labor for the Hive by Jamie Liu (short solarpunk story): https://grist.org/climate-fiction/imagine2200-to-labor-for-the-hive/
-- The Joy Fund by Susan Kaye Quinn (short hopepunk story): https://dreamforge.mywebportal.app/dreamforge/stories/show/the-joy-fund-susan-kaye-quinn
-- The Assignment (6 min. trailer for the Climate Action Almanac): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0CnJNU1E9s
Free Guy (2021 hopepunk movie): https://www.amazon.com/Free-Guy-Ryan-Reynolds/dp/B09GQZBBMF
Susan Kaye Quinn Susan Kaye Quinn is an environmental engineer/rocket scientist turned speculative fiction author who writes hopeful climate fiction and now uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. She’s been a full-time indie author since 2011, writing everything from YA SF to futuristic hopepunk to gritty cyberpunk (plus spicy romance under a super sekrit pename). Her short fiction can be found in DreamForge, Grist, Reckoning, and more. Her novels have been translated into German and French. All her stories can be found on her website: www.susankayequinn.com.
She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast, stories to build a better world: www.brightgreenfutures.wtf