>> Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club Registration <<
Registration is currently OPEN
Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club Registration is open April 25, 2025 through June 9, 2025 for Summer I students. Registration will close if program capacity is met.
Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club Registration is open July 1, 2025 through July 9, 2025 for Summer II students. Registration will close if program capacity is met.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
"Is it okay if I can't attend every discussion?"
Yes, it's okay. We will be discussing different short stories from the eBook anthology at each meeting, so there's no need to "catch up" in order to participate. (See our story discussion schedule.)
Keep in mind that the more active participants there are in attendance, the more rewarding the experience is for everyone. Program capacity is limited, so if you know that you are no longer able to regularly participate, please let a club organizer know that your spot is available.
"Can I participate?"
All current HCC Library patrons can participate! If you are a current employee of HCC, or you are an HCC student currently registered in one or more classes, then you are a valid HCC Library account holder and patron. [Tip: The back of your HCC ID is your library account barcode 275222xxxxxxxx]
"Do I need to buy the book?"
No, unless you prefer to own it or use a physical or audio format. Houston Community College Libraries owns the Unlimited access eBook of Afterglow for current HCC patrons (e.g. faculty, staff, and students) to use.
"Can someone help me figure out how to read the eBook?"
If you need librarian assistance accessing this eBook, please contact an HCC Librarian from our Ask A Librarian page. There are several contact options: telephone, text message, email, and live chat.
Summer Virtual Book Club Organizers
The HCC Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club has been organized by Librarians Raquel Donahue, Jennifer Crispin, Virnesia Haywood, Giselle Ayala, Carmen Walton, Gwen Henderson, and Library Assistants Lorelei Frigillana and Sophia Hernandez. Please contact a librarian if you have questions about the program.
HCC librarians and employees can typically be contacted by email directly using the following convention: Firstname.Lastname@hccs.edu.
Grist. Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors. The New Press, 2023.
Description: A science fiction anthology of hopeful and forward-looking futuristic short stories that explore how the power of storytelling can help create the world we need. It is edited by, and published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions.
Keywords/Tags: 21st century, Afrofuturism, anthology, CliFi, climate change, hopepunk, literature, science fiction, short stories, solarpunk
Authors: Ailbhe Pascal, Marissa Lingen, Tehnuka, Ada M. Patterson, Michelle Yoon, Lindsey Brodeck, Rich Larson, Mike McClelland, Savitri Putu Horrigan, Renan Bernardo, Saul Tanpepper (bestselling author), Abigail Larkin. Includes a foreword by adrienne maree brown. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Its goal is to use the power of storytelling to illuminate the way toward a better world, inspire millions of people to walk that path with us, and show that the time for action is now.
You can visit the StoryGraph page to learn more about this book through community user reviews and content warnings.
Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors (eBook)
In order to receive the discussion meeting links, HCC patrons must be registered for the book club program. Please contact a Club Organizer/Librarian directly if you are having difficulties.
This discussion schedule may be subject to change due to unforeseeable events (e.g. inclement weather). If program registration is robust, organizers will expand the discussion date offerings to twice a week (Mondays & Wednesdays) for manageable discussion group sizes. See ALA Discussion Size Recommendations.
Week |
Short Stories to be Discussed |
Discussion Date |
Discussion Time |
| 1 | Introduction to the Book & Club (no material discussion) | Wed. June 4 | 11:00AM - 11:30AM |
| 2 |
Afterglow (6 pages) & The Cloud Weaver's Song (6 pages) |
Mon. June 9 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 3 |
Tidings (6 pages) & A Worm to the Wise (6 pages) |
Wed. June 18 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 4 | A Séance in the Anthropocene (8 pages) | Mon. June 23 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 5 |
The Tree in the Back Yard (5 pages) & When It's Time to Harvest (7 pages) |
Wed. July 2 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 6 (a) | Broken From the Colony (7 pages) | Mon. July 7 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 6 (b) | Introduction to the Book & Club (for New Members) (no material discussion) | Wed. July 9 | 11:00AM - 11:30AM |
| 7 | The Case of the Turned Tide (6 pages) | Wed. July 16 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 8 | El, The Plastrotrophs, and Me (7 pages) | Mon. July 21 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 9 | Canvas-Wax-Moon (7 pages) | Wed. July 30 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
| 10 |
The Secrets of the Last Greenland Shark (8 pages) & Club Wrap-up |
Mon. August 4 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM |
“This is a glorious book that challenges our conceptions of bookmaking as much as it questions our conceptions of world-building. We, as earthlings, will be better to the earth after experiencing this book. That is not hyperbole.” —New York Times bestselling author Kiese Laymon
“[Afterglow] approaches climate change with hope for the radically different futures humans might create.” —The New York Times Book Review
"This short story collection radiates radical imagination. . . . If you’re feeling bouts of climate anxiety or even apocalypse fatigue, Afterglow will remind you to keep the faith." —Sierra magazine
“The twelve stories in the anthology Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors . . . take readers into the future and across the globe to witness how humanity has persevered in the face of climate-crisis-induced destruction.” —ZYZZYVA
“This sparkling anthology of 12 climate fiction stories distinguishes itself with its hopeful bent. . . . Offering a glimpse at imagined futures across the globe, this is a welcome lift to the spirits to those who may be struggling to see any brightness amid climate fears.” —Publishers Weekly
“The art of storytelling is not only an act of memory and imagination, but one of hope and faith. These vivid and provocative stories represent a dreaming, a collective vision of future worlds where humanity has gathered itself, shared resources and wisdom, to arrive at a place of intentional action, health, and thriving. It is no small feat on the page or beyond to engage in such brave work. The tales of Afterglow offer the glimmers of possibility, the hard choices to be made, and the radiance of worlds not yet known but deeply needed.” —Sheree Renée Thomas, author of Black Panther: Panther’s Rage and Nine Bar Blues
“Ultimately, I hope these stories reveal how our imaginations can help build a better reality—not only to serve as a guiding light, but to serve as a balm for these current, difficult times.” —Morgan Jerkins, bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing
[Source]
Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club Flyer (8.5 x 11 in)
Summer 2025 Virtual Book Club Viewsonic (2160 x 3840px)
Summer 2024 Book Selection
Hunter, Megan. The End We Start From: A Novel. Grove Press, 2017.
Paperback Copy | Hardcover Copy | eBook, 3 User Licenses
Description: As London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child. Days later, she and her baby are forced to leave their home in search of safety. They head north through a newly dangerous country seeking refuge from place to place, shelter to shelter, to a desolate island and back again. The story traces fear and wonder, as the baby's small fists grasp at the first colors he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds...
Keywords/Tags: CliFi, climate change, death, dystopia, England, extreme weather, family, fiction, flood, grief, human migration, London, missing persons, motherhood, pregnancy, survival, tense, population displacement, psychological trauma, United Kingdom (UK)
