Embracing hope in post-apocalyptic fiction | with Sarah Jean Horwitz

The alternative title for this episode was ‘post-apocalyptic fiction for readers who don’t like sad books’. This week’s guest is middle-grade author Sarah Jean Horwitz and our mission is to find some great recommendations in the realm of apocalyptic fiction that aren’t filled with dread and disaster. We turn to the genre of Hopepunk and sample a selection to discover what’s out there! Spoiler level: no heavy spoilers for any of the books mentioned Books A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers (+ The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet) Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James World Running Down by Al Hess Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel Honourable mentions (that didn’t quite fit the brief) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen Other books and things mentioned Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien The Loneliest Girl in the World  by Lauren James Climate Fiction Writers League Newsletter Find out more about Sarah Jean Horwitz Sarah Jean’s website The Demon Sword Asperides by Sarah Jean Horwitz Sarah on Instagram Send in your audio clips for the Severance by Ling Ma Book Club episode: Deadline: March 25th Email your voice clip to [email protected] Please include: SUBJECT: Severance Book Club Name (first name only please) and feel free to include pronouns The 30-45 second audio clip as an attachment (you can include your name in this clip too, or leave it out) Any additional info that would be helpful for me to have. If your clip is a bit too long or there are pauses or mistakes, I will edit them a bit, so don’t worry about getting it perfect! Anyone sending a voice clip is consenting to their clip being used in an episode of The End of the World Book Club. If you don’t want your name read out, please include this in the email. The End of the World Book Club is a podcast about apocalyptic and dystopian literature, hosted by Sanne Vliegenthart. Join me in discovering sci-fi classics, reading climate books and diving head first into the huge realm of speculative fiction, all with the theme of the end of the world and what might come after it. Sanne Vliegenthart is the creator of Books & Quills, author of a Book Club Journal, and a freelance Social Media Strategist and Literary Event Host in publishing. You can find her literary explorations of the UK and reading recommendations on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok at @booksandquills. Patreon Support this independent podcast on Patreon, where you can listen to the Extra Broadcast bonus podcast with more sci-fi recommendations and behind the scenes, or join our book club chats and disaster film watch-alongs. ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/endoftheworldbookclub⁠⁠ Buy a book You can also support the podcast by ordering books through our ⁠Bookshop.org⁠ page (ad, affiliate link). On this page you can browse all the books we'll be discussing this season: ⁠Browse the books