The quote “A book is not an isolated being: it is a relationship, an axis of innumerable relationships” is by Jorge Luis Borges, from Ficciones. This month I want to celebrate fictional stories, which is what I guess I do every newsletter, particularly those that are tied to natural places. How do we connect with our ecosystems, fear them, become in awe of them, lose them, love them, grieve them, and even resurrect them? I often need to turn off the world to stay sane, increasingly so these days. I can’t say that I escape to fiction, more like I move into a reality that is formed by art and exists as palpably as anything else in life. It’s wise, I think, to stay aware of what’s happening in the world—and fight for what’s right—while also allowing ourselves to embrace the profound experiences we find in art.

World eco-fiction series

Here’s something positive and beautiful for you to read: This month I talked with Aneesa Jamal, who helped to create an online portal for Earth-based and climate stories written and illustrated by Indian children and teens. There’s a lot here to soak in, and a link to read all the stories, for free, online.

Indie Corner

In this Indie Corner, I welcome Lynn Hutchinson Lee, an author I recently met on a panel of readers who contributed to Through the Portal: Tales From a Hopeful Dystopia (Exile Editions), an anthology that Lynn edited with Nina Munteanu. We talked about Lynn’s new novella, Origins of Desire in the Orchid Fens (Stelliform Press, April 2025). This is a dark fantasy literary novel. I just ordered the ebook from the press. I mean, it has river sprites, a fen, and orchids. What is there not to like?

Flashbacks

In January, I promised flashbacks in each newsletter and then forgot about it last month. So this month let’s look back at a couple past features at Dragonfly.eco.

• First, Earth Day is coming up in April, and I do something special for it each year. This year is a cool talk with Isaac Yuen, who I met on Earth Day a decade ago at a library in Vancouver, where we had a panel about ecology and climate change in fiction. Isaac has written a lot about Hayao Miyazaki, so that’s our spotlight this coming April. Isaac has also been one of my favorite essayists in the past decade.
  
  But, let’s step back to 2021’s Earth Day, where the Rewilding our Stories Discord was fairly new. Here’s what we were reading then! Also, to those in the northern hemisphere, happy almost spring equinox.

  

• Before the world eco-fiction series, I began a climate change author spotlight in 2016. I had been casually interviewing authors and artists before then, but the new series went for two years before the bigger focus on eco-fiction overall. My first interview was with Jeff VanderMeer, whose work had turned me onto a genre that I call eco-weird. I was reading the Southern Reach Trilogy and so excited with it. You can read our talk here. He turned out to be a very kind, down-to-earth person.

Book of the month

As part of the Rewilding our Stories book club, where we’re reading up to 25 books of our choosing this year, I’m reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun (Vintage Canada), an African historical fiction about Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. I’m really enjoying the story. Adichie expertly weaves history and fiction in this tale.

Resources

• In case you’ve missed these exciting resources, including newest books at Dragonfly.eco, check ‘em out!

  • LinkTree: Find out more about me.

  • Dragonfly Publishing: My own micro-press.

  • Rewilding Our Stories: A Discord community where you can find resources, reading, and writing fun in fiction that relates strongly to nature and environment.

  • I finally created a new playlist of “Nature, climate, and environmental songs”. Click here for part 1 (very long!) and here for the new part 2.

  • Book recommendations: a growing list of recs.

  • Eco/climate genres: They’re all over the place, and here’s an expanding compendium.

  • Inspiring and informative author quotes from Dragonfly’s interviews.

  • List of ecologically focused games.

  • List of eco/climate films and documentaries.

  • Eco-fiction links and resources.

  • Book database: Database of over 1,100 book posts at Dragonfly.eco.

  • Turning the Tide: The Youngest Generation: Fiction aimed toward children, teens, and young adults.

  • Indie Corner: The occasional highlight of authors who publish independently.

  • Artists & Climate Change. This site is no longer being updated but still has a wealth of info. I was a core writer for their team, and I’m both honored and grateful. Look for my “Wild Authors” series there.

Copyright 2025 Mary Woodbury