Earth Week:
Hope, Alarm, and Climate Change:
The Climate Narratives Prize

Given the state of the planet, is it OK to have a child? With so much grim climate news, can we allow ourselves to feel optimistic? If we talk with people from around the world, can we gain new insights on how climate change is affecting their lives?

These are just some of the questions raised and answered by the winners of the first biennial Climate Narratives Prize, to be awarded at Arizona State University on April 22, Earth Day, at an event titled “Hope, Alarm and Climate Change.”

Three nationally renowned writers will receive the inaugural ASU Climate Narratives Prize, nominated by leaders in the field including Katherine Hayhoe, Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, Frank Sesno, Vann Newkirk and Lacy M. Johnson. The winners will be featured live and others will join virtually to discuss the winning work and the kinds of narratives that resonate with audiences and can drive change.

The prize—created and sponsored by Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, and the Narrative Storytelling Initiative—originated as part of a project rethinking the way climate change stories are told and exploring their potential to drive social and cultural change. The project has drawn upon the expertise of journalists, climate scientists, and scholars of the humanities to better conceptualize and communicate through story the world-shattering stakes of inaction on climate change.

This dynamic and fun event will be moderated by Steven Beschloss and Sarah Viren and is the result of their prize-selecting class, “Climate Narratives, Apocalypse, and Social Change.” The course was developed with the support of of a Luce Foundation/ACLS-funded grant project entitled “Apocalyptic Narratives and Climate Change: Religion, Journalism, and the Challenge of Public Engagement.”

This in-person event is part of the Global Future Laboratory’s Earth Week Celebration. Go HERE for more events.