Contagious Tales of hope
Contagious Tales is a new collection of short stories that turns our troubled times into modern folk tales to shine a light on how we got here and illuminate the way ahead. It takes an imaginatively different look at our current crises, from the climate emergency to the coronavirus pandemic. It is part of an on-going project begun by the New Weather Institute to find more imaginative ways to tell the stories of the challenges faced by our times.
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“This book is like being by a campfire, surrounded by your favourite people telling stories that are funny, inventive, full of pathos and truth, but also making leaps of imagination that point the way out of our current self-destructive path.” Caroline Lucas, Green MP
After decades of campaigning for a better world, the current moment seems ever-more troubling, standing on the verge of potentially irreversible ecological decline and in the grip of toxic social division and pandemics that cross the species’ barrier. Contagious Tales is the fourth collection of modern folk stories following: There was a Knock at the Door, Knock Twice, and Knock Three Times, and is published in collaboration with the Rapid Transition Alliance, supported by the KR Foundation. It brings together a wide variety of authors, from earth scientists and economists, to playwrights and poets.
Contagious Tales is also available as a kindle and print edition here. The previous titles in the series are available here: There was a knock at the door, Knock Twice and Knock Three Times.
“These stories matter because they help us grasp a world that is seemingly out of control, and imagine what steps we can take next to make things better.” Alan Rusbridger, editor of Prospect magazine, former editor of The Guardian
Authors and titles include:
Deerspeak Anita Roy
In the rain Deborah Rim Moiso
Do you read me? David Cross
You know this already Sarah Woods
Pandemic poetry Extract from Plague Poems
Treasure Jan Dean
The shrunken road Nick Robins
Night singing Nicky Saunter
The mask maker Andrew Simms
Moments Marion Molteno
Net zero Bill McGuire
The ark Corrina Cordon
The white hare Geoff Mead
Sous le mall Emilie Tricarico
Felicity Natasha Lodge
The Pandora boxes Ed Mayo
The battlecruisers David Boyle
Lockdown birthday Jana Laiz
Slogan John Jackson
The Prime Minister knitted me a jumper Chris Nichols
The three bears Allan Nicholls
Njálla and the lost Mr Winter Anna Jonsson