ALA Annual 2025: Cli-Fi Panel Report With A Giveaway

Note: This post is part of my weekly #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway available on RA for All Horror. Since it also includes a report on the panel I moderated at ALA Annual, I am re-posting here. If you are interested, you may enter the giveaway, but please note, if you don'y win, you will stay in until you do and you may win a more general Horror giveaway. I will not be able to enter you only for this week.

Today I have the ARCs of the three books by the authors who appeared on a panel I moderated at ALA. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American Library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winners were Kristie from NJ, Ilyssa from NJ, Susan from MA, and Maggie from CO.

On Sunday during the ALA 2025 Conference, I had the opportunity to moderate this panel:

Cli-Fi Panel: Exciting Forthcoming Environmental Fiction: 

Join authors Anna North (BOG QUEEN, Bloomsbury), Wendy N. Wagner (GIRL IN THE CREEK, Tor Nightfire), and Yume Kitasei (SALTCROP, Flatiron), as they discuss their forthcoming novels, which explore environmental issues in bold new ways and through various genres, including literary fiction, eco-horror, and sci-fi. This panel will be moderated by librarian Becky Spratford, RA for All. After 30 minutes of discussion and Q&A, please join the authors for a 20-minute galley signing. 

During our 20 minute conversation we talked about how "Cli-Fi" is not a genre-- as these three books demonstrate. It is more of a frame. All three of these books have an environmental frame and add unsettling speculative elements to provide entertainment, yes, but also some fear about our very real climate.

We have titles here that would be most commonly cataloged as Historical Fiction (North), Horror (Wagner), and Science Fiction (Kitasei), and yet, they also a have clear "cli-fi" lens.

In this more general part of the conversation we talked about why they felt that this lens was so important to them and how it works I tandem with their genre elements. 

All three have a deep connection to the natural world and shared how they work it into everything they write. (So if you like these books or what I am sharing here, check out all of their books.)

We also talked about how they approached their novel so differently. We went back and forth about some more specifics of how their stories are told. Here is a summary of that part of the conversation:

• North's novel is a historical story going all the way back to ancient times and alternating with the present. And we talked about how the bog gets a voice as well. She talked about her research as well.
• Wagner talked about the overlap of true crime, being a hiker and things she has seen, and the narration of her fungus-- the strangeness. We talked about the animals having a voice and her love of trees.
• Kitasei shared stories about having three sisters herself, how the story is as much about a journey as it is about the environment, and how when she wrote it, she thought it would be way more SF, but now it feels to real.

It was a great chat and I highly recommend all three books for all libraries. I am giving these ARCs away together precisely because I love how they represent the broad range of what would have been considered "Cli-Fi," even just a few years ago. These are solid historical, horror, and science fiction novels with strong message about the problems of climate change.

These ARCs were went to me by the publishers before ALA so that I could read them to prepare. And now, they are being passed on to one of you.

Enter this week and you are entered going forward.

Good Luck!

Booklist Spotlights the Environment and Sustainability and I Have Ideas On How (and Why) to Use It With a Wider Group of Readers

One of my favorite things about Booklist as a resource is that it covers all leisure reading-- all ages, all formats, fiction and nonfiction-- all in a single magazine. And, yet another favorite thing is that each issue has a few "spotlights," gathering the best from the previous 12 months (since the last spotlight) into useful lists.

The March 1st issue was a great example of those favorite things colliding. The spotlight was on the Environment and Sustainability and that issue provided two excellent lists of nonfiction that are great for a general adult audience. Lists you can use immediately with readers:

• Top 10 Books on the Environment & Sustainability 2023
• The Essentials: See the Forests and the Trees

On that second list, I read and loved 2 of the titles as we considered them for the Andrew Carnegie Medal last year: Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon and The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth, by Ben Rawlence. The later title easily made our Nonfiction Longlist.

All of these titles are perfect for a general reader, those who want accurate scientific information in a fun to read package. Nothing here is too technical. Take Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America’s Woods by Lyndsie Bourgon for example. This is both a book about our declining forests AND a true crime story. It is written just like True Crime, a genre I covered yesterday on the blog. And we know that is super popular.

That is but one example. The appeal of these titles is vast and the potential readership is wide. Consider putting these titles on a display with your Cli-Fi to show readers the wide array of reading options that are available to them. You can also click here for other posts I have tagged Cli-Fi. We don't need to always separate fiction and nonfiction in our displays; in fact, I have found that readers appreciate when fiction and nonfiction options are intermingle because too often readers forget one while looking for the other. They appreciate us more when we offer a potential read that they would not have ever picked up without our help.

Also, remember these lists and, especially, the annotations are ready to use with readers immediately. Especially the annotation because all of Booklist's Spotlight issue lists have annotations that are perfect conversation starters for you to introduce a book. It's a built in suggestion and book talk allow one list. And the editors at Booklist have vetted these titles for you. These are the best of the best. 

So use these lists now, but remember, every single issue is a spotlight for something and willinlcude vetted lists you can use immediately and with confidence. 

What I'm Reading: The Last Storm by Tim Lebbon

Today I have another review form the current issue of Booklist. This one is going to the the PERFECT Summer Horror-Thriller hybrid read. It has all of the action and suspense people crave with a touching family story at its center. While I personally enjoyed Lebbon's last book, Eden, more, I 100% think this one will be more popular, like really popular. Please don't sleep on this one. Your readers will LOVE it.

The Last Storm

By Tim Lebbon

July 2022. 352p. Titan, paper, $15.95 (9781803360423). 

First published June 1, 2022 (Booklist).

Global warming has turned most of North America into a desert. Twenty years ago, Jesse, a “Rainmaker, brought down a deadly storm containing more than water. Now, living alone, off the grid, Jesse is punishing himself, not only for the harm he caused that day, but also because when he realized that his young daughter, Ash, held even more danger inside of her and tried to halt her training, he may have caused her death. For ten years, Katrina, Jesse’s estranged wife, has been searching for Ash, and when she hears word of a young Rainmaker, Katrina convinces Jesse to join the search and save their daughter. But Jesse and Katrina are not the only ones looking for Ash. Lebbon's [Eden] latest climate change fueled Horror novel uses multiple points of view to allow the characters to develop and the suspense to intensify, racing to a climactic, stormy battle. Thought provoking, disturbing, and family centered, this tale will appeal to readers of tales as varied as fans of the storytelling style of The Violence by Dawson, the family centered, dark fantasy of The Changeling by LaValle, or water crisis fueled cli-fi The Water Knife by Bacigalupi.

YA Statement: Teens will be drawn in by Ash and her compelling and unique coming of age storyline, but they will stay for the intensifying action and honest assessment of a near future climate dystopia. The addition of some terrifying monsters literally falling from the sky is a nice bonus.

Further Appeal: This is a plot driven narrative, but with character development and a strong sense of place. There was so much detail about the most important storylines that frame this story that I had to use up many of my 175 allowed words on that in the draft above. However, I did add words back into my final sentence that do NOT appear in the magazine.

The original frame for Ash and Jesse's powers was fascinating and very well developed. They are genetically derived from a single line of humans with the ability to enter a parallel dimension and bring rain into our world. Descriptions of the process and what each of them–Jesse and Ash– see while there is very cool and I will not spoil it for you. And this world building of their separate spaces collides nicely toward the end. I think those were some of my favorite parts of the book.

Some more notes from when I was reading: High unease, through provoking, family focused, fast paced, multiple povs, cli fi, compelling, disturbing, intensifying!!! With a little cosmic twist. Walks the Horror-Dark Fantasy-SF line in a satisfying way.

The multiple points of view are key. With such a fast-paced, plot heavy story, there is no way we could have gotten the character and place development we needed here without that. This is a book that will satisfy a wide range of readers for that reason.

I also wanted to drop this quote from my book here as it explains the different between climate fiction in Horror versus Science Fiction because it might matter for some [see the YA statement above for a sneak peak at why this is Horror].

"Climate change horror differs from its science fiction fueled cousin (“Cli-Fi”) in that it is not simply the changes in climate which bring the unease. Rather in these horror stories, as the climate itself brings natural disasters, it is also an instigator of the creation of a monster itself, whether born of the climate change or awakened by it."

Three Words That Describe This Book: Climate Horror, high unease, multiple points of view 

Readalikes: The plot is very different here than in The Violence listed above, but the similarities between the two stood out to me as I was reading. Many will want more fast paced, cli-fi and the Bacigalupi is the best place to start there before sending them to this extensive archive of excellent Cli-Fi choices via Book Riot. But I wanted to make sure people understood the very touching parent-child story here. The LaValle rec is to hammer that home as well. Also fans of Christoper Golden [and there are many] will enjoy this and all books by Lebbon.

This book comes out in early July, so if you haven't pre-ordered yet, fix that ASAP.

Core Collections: Facing Climate Change via Booklist

I have given my Demystifying Genre talk 4 times over the last month, and one of the updates I have made to this program is including notes where popular trends in fiction genres overlap with their narrative nonfiction counterpart. For example, True Adventure for Adrenaline fans and True Crime for Mystery readers. 

In Science Fiction Climate Science Fiction, or Cli-Fi, is still a trend. [In 2019 I did this post explaining it in detail.  I also have a tag for cli-fi.] And narrative nonfiction that addresses climate change is also becoming more popular. 

Booklist's lastest issue [3/1/22] they address this important nonfiction area with a newly updated Core Collection list on nonfiction about facing climate change. While this is an important list for you to update your shelves, I would also urge you to use this list to suggest to leisure readers who are seeking Cli-Fi as well. 

Below is the introduction to the core collections list with a link to read the details.

And please note: I am working toward incorporating more nonfiction RA coverage and advice into this blog.

Core Collection: Facing Climate Change By Donna Seaman.
		FEATURE. First published March 1, 2022 (Booklist). Booklist published its first core collection on climate change in 2006, and all of the books listed there are still urgently important because the reality of global warming is still being denied in spite of ever-rising planetary temperatures and the ever-worsening impacts of climate change. Once again, we offer a list of exceptional books explicating the state of the climate, the biosphere, and humankind, books calling for action and offering paths forward. We continue to hope that clearly presented facts and persuasive discussions will help guide us toward solutions. For more outstanding titles addressing climate change, see the Top 10 Books on the Environment and Sustainability. Click here to read the full annotated list with links to reviews for each book.

Trending: Cli-Fi Resources, Articles, and Reading Lists

As I mentioned in my Reading Resolutions last month, I am the team captain of the Speculative Fiction portion of the ARRT Popular Authors List. In the role I am doing a deep dive into all areas of speculative fiction.

One of the biggest trends in this category of fiction is "Cli-Fi" or climate fiction. While most of this emerging mini-genre is SF based, novels that suppose how climate change will effect the world do blend into other genres, mostly notable horror and literary fiction. For that reason, we are not making Cli-Fi its own subgenre in the new edition of the Popular Authors list because it isn't always only under SF [and other reasons but that is too off topic for today], but we have created a few new categories beyond Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy under the Speculative Umbrella called "Further Genres of the Unreal" under which some Cli-Fi focused authors will fit.

But that is also getting a little off topic. The point of today's post is that for a while now I have been following Cli-Fi, the think pieces being written about it, and the numerous reading lists. Today, I wanted to compile some of those for you because they are only helping me at this point. I want to pass them on to help you both with purchasing and with rethinking some of these titles that I know you have on your shelves but that you probably don't think of as Cli-Fi [Salvage The Bones by Ward is a great example].

So here is a list of Cli-Fi resources that you can use to better understand this emerging subgenre, where it came from, where it is now, where it may go, and most importantly, why people want to read it. These links all include information that informs you about Cli-Fi and provide a list. Use them all to make displays, booktalk, and even to help you rethink a title you might not have thought fits this subgenre.

• How sci-fi could help solve climate change via Grist
• What is Cli-Fi? A Beginner's Guide to Climate Fiction via Book Riot
• Best Cli-Fi Books via Five Books [I like how this one talks about the deep roots of this genre: it's not new, just has a name now]
• The New Vanguard of Climate Fiction via LitHub
• also this link for anything they have [or will if you read this in the future] tagged "cli-fi;" this link is the best one of the group to click on.
• The Man Who Coined "Cli-Fi"  Has Some Reading Suggestions For You: A Conversation with Dan Bloom via Chicago Review of Books
• 6 Climate Fiction Books That Could Change the Earth [If You Read Them] via SYFYWire