Countdown to... Penzance!
My workshop is for anyone doing any kind of writing at all: poetry, fiction (both short stories and novels), and non-fiction. The basic premise is that we are bombarded with depressing climate and nature news every single day in the media (and the pendulum has swung, as it always does, in precisely the opposite direction from where it was only 10-15 years ago, when it was difficult to find much news about the environment) - but there is a LOT of good news around, despite a gas-guzzling war and some serious denial across the Atlantic.
How can we harness the hope, while balancing the realism we all need when facing these twin crises? And what does 'hope' mean, in this context?
I hope this has whetted your appetite!
My blurb says: Most climate fiction focuses on disasters, but other ways of approaching the climate crisis include hope, generosity and ingenuity, often deployed in unexpected ways. Novelist and founder of the Bristol Climate Writers network, Deborah Tomkins, will explore different genres and techniques for writing about climate change, with reference to her own prize-winning books, Aerth and The Wilder Path (shortlisted for The Encore Award 2026).
If you find this interesting and you are in the area, please come along. Places are limited to 12 people, and it costs £20. Open to all writers!
Various bits of news...
The authors and judges met for tea ahead of the event, and we had lovely writerly chats. Then we moved into the main rooms of the ICA, a handsome Georgian building with beautiful reception rooms upstairs, with high ceilings, big windows and polished floors. There were many guests, including publishers, stunning flower arrangements, sparkling wine and canapés, live music - and us! Claire Adam won the Award for her book Love Forms, but I am still so happy that my climate novel The Wilder Path was on the shortlist of only 4 books.
Huge thanks to The Society of Authors, and to our panel of judges chaired by Malika Booker. Here's a picture (photo by Jonathan Hawkins).
Meanwhile this unseasonably hot weather has taken both me and my garden by surprise. Two weeks ago my small veg plants had to be brought inside not only at night, but often in the daytime, especially tomatoes which hate the cold. Today the heat drives me inside and it's a challenge to keep them watered. It's the hottest May week ever.
You will see from the photo below that I plant my tomatoes in large pots directly into the earth. This is to protect them from weather shocks - heat, cold, flood and drought. It works. The first year I did this, I harvested nearly 40kg of tomatoes from 7 plants. I recommend this technique!
The garden is always a work in progress this time of year. You can see climbing French beans in the plastic tub, almost ready to be planted. There are cucumbers too, and courgettes, parsley and mint (in a pot), lettuce, pak choi and other herbs. Behind are raspberries which are already beginning to fruit (several weeks early, despite the cold spring). Wild strawberries bring me and the birds pleasure. And the large grey-green plant is a poppy which I didn't have the heart to dig up. It's not in the way right now.
There is very little better than home-grown produce. And it takes a tiny bit of pressure off our increasingly vulnerable food supply systems.
Bristol Climate Writers event - May 22nd 2026
Dr Helen Moore is a pioneering British ecopoet, socially engaged artist, and writer. She has previously published several acclaimed collections of poetry, including river/run, available from Cape Farewell.
If you are in the Bristol area, we would love to see you!
Tickets are available here.
(For members of Bristol Climate Writers, only, there will be a further meeting after this event, at a different venue. Please contact me for more details.)
The Encore Award - shortlisting
This year's judges were Malika Booker, Rachel Aroesti, and Anita Sethi, who selected a "treasure trove" of four novels for the shortlist. It's absolutely amazing that my novel now keeps company with the brilliant books shortlisted in the past, as well as these wonderful contemporary novels.
The judges say, about The Wilder Path:
This immensely atmospheric novel depicts both extreme weather events and the characters' stormy emotions as it tells a potent story of grief for the loss of human life and the destruction of the natural world - and how such loss can be channelled into hope and action to strive for a better world.
Huge congratulations to my three fellow shortlisted authors, Claire Adam, Caleb Klaces, and Nydia Hetherington, and I look forward very much to reading their novels.
AI - Artificial Intelligence - and creativity
The second thing to say is that ALL work created by Artificial General Intelligence has been stolen from the works of human beings: writing, music, art, photography. AGI is trained on human work, the vast majority of which has been used without permission - uploaded, saved and then deleted within seconds. Artists deserve copyright fees. There have been some lawsuits (ongoing).
You will find that AGI-created work (can we say "created"? - I'm not sure - it is simply "produced", like in a factory) all begins to sound and look the same. AGI has no original creative impulse of its own, however clever and original it may sound at first.
There are other forms of Artificial Intelligence - some are useful, for example in science experiments when a computer compiles results, thus saving researchers a great deal of time. Other uses are dubious - certain models of AI are factually incorrect up to 40% of the time. We shouldn't rely on these for fact-checking, homework etc. Other uses are plain unethical - such as Palantir now using its AI software to choose targets to bomb in Iran. The AI is making decisions that only humans should make.
I could go on! There is a lot more to say. Perhaps another time. I have never used AI of any kind, and don't intend to. Readers can be assured that everything I write and publish, whether words or images, is all my own work.
Meanwhile, on a lighter note, if you would like to read The Wilder Path as an eBook, you can find it on Kobo.
Italian copies of AERTH have arrived!
Aerth - Un'Altra Terra
Molte grazie to Giorgio Raffaelli at Zona42, and to all the team!
Cornwall in the winter
In my novel The Wilder Path, Roly takes a cliff-top walk on a beautiful New Year's Eve afternoon - I imagined the weather just like this. She certainly doesn't expect to become trapped in a cave with only an injured cormorant for company.
The novel explores Roly's complex reactions to climate change and the threats to nature, and her equally complex relationships with friends and family. She was a challenge to write - not always sympathetic, but always human - and ahead of her time.
Geneva Writers... and news about Aerth
While I was there, a friend sent me a screenshot of my novella Aerth... mentioned as one of the best books of 2025 in the Daily Telegraph Christmas Books supplement. This is tremendously exciting! I must say I found it difficult to sleep that night. Aerth is one of just 21 novels mentioned in that part of the list. Online, it links to the stunning review by the Telegraph's critic Luke Kennard, which was published in January, just before the book came out.
All in all, a very exciting weekend. I travelled to Geneva and back via public transport, a total of: 8 trains, 2 overnight ferries, one bus, one taxi, 2 Paris metro trains, and my own two feet! It was a very interesting journey, and not as tiring as people might expect. More on this, perhaps, in another post.
The Daily Telegraph, 15th November 2025.
Bristol Climate Writers
Reading can help us think things through, as well as inform and entertain us. Writing can help the author work out what they really think, and how to say it. Reading and writing are important.
We have poets, fiction writers, and non-fiction writers of all kinds in our network, both published, unpublished and just starting out. On 24th November we will be introducing ourselves and our work, there will be readings, and hopefully, if we have time, discussion.
Do come along! This event is free, and open to all. Please use the sign-up form so we can send you the Zoom link.
Going forward, we expect to alternate events between online and in-person events.
BristolCon 2025
BrtistolCon is extraordinary. Run entirely by volunteers, it manages everything on a shoestring - excellent talks, panel discussions and workshops, booksellers and artists - thus keeping the event low-cost for all participants, and is just 10 minutes' walk from the central railway station at Bristol Temple Meads. Many people stay at the hotel; others, like me, are local.
As usual there were so many fascinating talks, panels, and small group discussions. I spotted Adrian Tchaikovsky among the attendees, but didn't get to hear him speak. Last year's guest of honour was Joanne Harris (who wrote Chocolat, among many other excellent novels); and this year's guests of honour were John Higgins, JE Hannaford and Ben Jeapes. Something that everyone mentions is how friendly and accessible the event is. The programme gives you an idea of the breadth and depth of the convention.
If you are interested in this event, check it out! I heartily recommend it.
They say:
BristolCon is a science fiction and fantasy convention organized by the BristolCon Committee. The primary aim of the event is to support the Science Fiction and Fantasy community within the South West of the United Kingdom, and to promote the works of Science Fiction and Fantasy authors, artists, businesses, and performers within the United Kingdom and further afield. The convention was created in 2009 by members of the Bristol Fantasy & SF Society, and has since become renowned as a fun, friendly, and informative addition to the UK’s convention calendar.
Each year we feature panel discussions and lectures, an art show, and small group sessions including table talks and workshops. Books, comics and merchandise are available in the dealers’ room and authors will be available for book signings.
The Flash Fiction Festival
If you are a writer - especially in the UK (although people come from all over the world) - and want to find out more about flash fiction, I suggest you put this in your diary for next year. Writers from all disciplines attend (novelists, short story writers, journalists, memoirists, poets, and others) - and the level of talent is outstanding. It's also a very friendly festival, and very accessible.
So here is Malina writing about the festival.
Trinity College, Bristol - Festival venue
Interzone IZ podcast with Gareth Jelley
I really enjoyed chatting with Gareth. Our conversation roamed widely, including of course my novella Aerth.
Interzone has a long history. Originally a paper publication, set up in 1982 in the UK, since 2022 it has been headed up by editor Gareth, with ebook issues and a digital online presence, IZ Digital, and an audio show, IZ Pod.
They say: Interzone is a European zine publishing fiction and non-fiction from all over the planet.
Gareth has just published Interzone issue 302, and individual issues are available here. IZ patrons get the latest issue and back issues going back to 2023.
Many thanks to Gareth for the interview - and apologies for taking so long to mention it here!
Interzone latest issue, #302, July 2025
Aerth... in Italian
I met with both the publisher and the translator on Zoom last Friday, on one of the hottest days of the year so far. It was around 35C in northern Italy, where they are based, and over last weekend it became even hotter - and this is at the end of June, when summer has only just started.
Giorgio Raffaelli of Zona 42 wrote to me that this is why Aerth is so relevant, and said - with irony - that they comfort themselves with the thought that this is a cooler summer than those of the future...
There is a lot we must do regarding climate and nature, and of course we all have a part to play in our daily lives - flying less, consuming less, being mindful of how we live. The science is clear, and we mustn't give up.
Books, plays, films, art and poetry can help us to think around the issues. You may not agree with everything you read or hear or see, but keep engaging with it. We need to pull together as never before.
Ciao!
Book signing in Bath, UK
Toppings is housed in a fascinating building - a beautiful Georgian stone building with steps and columns outside, and an internal gallery running around 3 sides. the bookshelves are so high on the ground floor that a ladder is needed to reach the top books. There are also many other rooms and sections, including a large children's section on the lower ground floor. The bookshop opened in these premises in 2021, although they had already had a shop for many years elsewhere in the city.
I was amazed to see both my novels displayed in stacks on a big table, where customers were browsing. Here I am in the gallery - notice the beautiful plaster work on the ceiling behind me. Do pop in if you are in Bath. This is definitely a bookshop to visit. (And I bought three books...)
Book Launch
Do come along if you can!
My novels deal with climate change, nature, and social justice.
Hope to see some of you there!
https://booksontherise.com/event/fbf-2025-writing-climate-fiction-an-evening-with-deborah-tomkins/
