Our News
Welcome to the July 2021 edition of Dragonfly.eco’s newsletter. I’ve been very busy writing the sequel to my novel Back to the Garden, a climate-change novel I began in 2009. It was first published in 2013, with a 2nd edition in 2018 to make it part of a duology. I began a NaNoWriMo challenge this spring: to write 70,000 words on the sequel, The Stolen Child, and have a first draft complete by early next year. I have hit the 50K mark, so am ahead of schedule, but that’ll give me time for the editorial stage. I hope to have it published by next fall. Anyway, that’s been keeping me busy and creative this summer, but I also have lots of other news below.
Coming soon: Our 9th birthday is August 13. Look forward to a new Medium article going around the world in 80 books. If you missed my first two, check here for the first part and here for the second. I honestly never figured I'd keep writing new articles every year or two, but so much eco-fiction is happening around the world, so why not?
July's World Eco-fiction spotlight is on Matt Bell, whose novel Appleseed is published on the 13th. It was great to chat with him about storytelling in games vs. written fiction, how he writes from speculating and imagining the future, and who some of his nature-writing influences are.
I've added a Support Us link to Dragonfly. I do not ask for donations and will never put content behind a paywall or install ads or annoying pop-ups. But ever since our move to Nova Scotia, I've expanded my Dragonfly Pub business to include book review and editorial services. So, check it out!
On July 20th, watch for my Indie Corner interview with Emma Reynolds, author of the upcoming children's book Amara and the Bats. Do we love bats? Yes, we do!
In the Backyard Wildlife series, in July, I talk about the weird and dangerous weather we've been having in Canada as well as new things I've seen on our property, including a tiny mouse and a tiny snake. I also talk about how Elsa's post-tropical storm wind and rain tried to topple our corn and caused our power to go out all night.
I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with three streamers: Yanas Kisten (Geekoscopy), Lovis Geier (Ecofictology), and Forrest Brown (Stories for Earth). These podcasts and YouTube series covering how storytelling, science, and art merge are fascinating.
It's a great time to join our Rewilding Our Stories Discord right now. We have an influx of new members, bringing us to over 100 now. And we just voted to read Jeff VanderMeer's Hummingbird Salamander, starting July 19th. It's not too late to join us!
In the next couple of months, look forward to a chat with Venetia Welby about her balmy and beautiful novel Dreamtime (set in Japan) as well as a talk with Bijal Vachharajani (novels set in India) about her illustrated children's books that cover ecological and climate realities.
In Other News
Kim Stanley Robinson talks about utopian fiction at The Nation.
Anne Coray's novel Lost Mountain is spotlighted in this Anchorage Daily News article. You might recognize her as one of our recent indie authors.
Northwest Territories' author Katłįà Lafferty has been nominated for an Indigenous Voices Award for her debut novel, Land-Water-Sky / Ndè–Tı–Yat'a. More at CBC.
Based on the same-named comic by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth is a sweet fairy tale series, morphed into the world of the wild, now on Netflix.
Coming in late summer is Lisa Joy's Reminiscence, starting Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Hugh Jackman, and Natalie Martinez.
The Tomorrow War, starring Chris Pratt, came to Netflix on June 2, and NK Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy is being being adapted to film! See our film section.
Resources
In case you’ve missed these exciting resources at Dragonfly, which are constantly being updated, check ‘em out!
World’s biggest playlist? Our environmental/nature song-of-the-week playlist, which goes back to 2016.
List of eco/climate films and documentaries
Eco-fiction links and resources
Book database (with well over 800 titles)
Turning the Tide: The Youngest Generation (fiction aimed toward children, teens, and young adults)
Indie Corner: New as of last summer, we give a hats off to authors who publish independently
Backyard Wildlife: A new-ish hidden gem exploring how we are rewilding our own backyard and meadow
Artists & Climate Change. This is an extraordinary resource delving into all kinds of the arts focused on climate change. For a while now they’ve been rerunning older world eco-fiction spotlight authors from Dragonfly. Recently they’ve made me a core writer for their team, and I’m both honored and grateful. Look for my “Wild Authors” series there.
Copyright 2024 Mary Woodbury