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This sensational novel shows what climate fiction can be

It can be difficult to work out which books count as climate fiction. Emily H. Wilson reads the shortlist for the Climate Fiction prize – and discovers Roz Dineen's powerful novel Briefly Very Beautiful

By Emily Wilson

30 April 2025

Shortlist book stack — The winner of the first Climate Fiction prize will be announced on 14 May
Climate Fiction Prize

Orbital
Samantha Harvey

The Morningside
Téa Obreht

And So I Roar
Abi Daré

The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley

Briefly Very Beautiful
Roz Dineen

Climate fiction is, ahem, hot right now. But I am still not sure we know exactly what it is. Certain novels are so obviously about climate change that no one could argue with that classification. One example is Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, which reads like a non-fiction account of runaway climate change in…

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