Allister Thompson was born in the UK and spent his childhood in Mississauga, Ontario, where he got his first part-time job in a small bookstore at the mall at age sixteen. He has spent the rest of his life working in the publishing and bookselling industries. He worked for small and mid-sized publishers in Toronto for fifteen years before striking out on his own as a freelance editor. This freedom eventually led him to North Bay, Ontario, where he has lived and worked with dozens of authors for the past ten years. He is also a musician with numerous recordings in various genres to his name.
CLIMATE CHANGE STORIES: HOPE OR DESPAIR?
Allister discusses the plot and themes and issues presented in his climate-change fiction novel, Birch and Jay.
What does the future look like for humanity? Is there any hope for future humans to live as better citizens of their planet? And in the interim, how will our civilization handle climate collapse and the social and political consequences of massive global change? All of these issues are part of the concept of The Knowledge Seekers trilogy, of which Birch and Jay is the first book.
Allister goes on to examine the role of artists in providing leadership and a sense of hope, using contemporary and historical examples of social consciousness in science fiction.
Climate Change Stories
Finding Hope for the Future
Allister will begin by presenting the plot and themes from his young adult post-apocalyptic climate-change novel, Birch and Jay, and then talking about how climate change is affecting young people, but also how it has entered the popular consciousness through art: books, film, TV, gaming, and music, giving examples that the teens can relate to.
He will examine what kinds of stories are out there: hopeful, bleak, etc.
Several music prompts will be used (original music by the author, and also examples from popular music) to get students brainstorming about how climate change is affecting them personally. Students will be asked to decide if the music is hopeful/bleak, and they will write something in response to that.
Lastly, students will have a few minutes to come up with their own hopeful scenarios through writing prompts such as “The future to me looks like…?” The outlook for coming generations will be very challenging. What does hope look like for them? What would they like the world to look like in a hundred years? Allister will specifically be asking them to think about positive change, not bleak scenarios, as an entry point for them to think about things they can do in their own lives to embody positive change where climate and the environment are concerned.
