The Utopia of Us
edited by Teika Marija Smits
The year 2024 marks the centenary of the first publication of the hugely significant novel We by the Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin. The direct inspiration for George Orwell’s 1984, We also influenced many other novels, such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed and Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano. We ushered in a new genre – the future dystopia – and in doing so gave birth to the many dystopian novels and films which have found their way into our popular culture.
Inspired by Zamyatin’s ground-breaking novel, The Utopia of Us features stories by some of the most imaginative of today’s writers of speculative fiction, including Aliya Whiteley, R.T. Ester, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Anne Charnock, Tim Major, Anna Orridge, Douglas Thompson, Nadya Mercik, Liam Hogan, Fiona Mossman, Ian Whates, Michael Teasdale, Ana Sun, Rayn Epremian, and Sofia Samatar. A timely and necessary celebration of We, The Utopia of Us offers the reader stories of hope and despair, wonder and brutality. Most of all, The Utopia of Us reminds us of our humanity.
Due to Russia’s current war with Ukraine, royalties from the book will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Tabella dei contenuti
Introduction – Teika Marija Smits
Intrinsic – Extrinsic – Terrific – Aliya Whiteley
Engine – The Blast – Antiques for Okras – R.T. Ester
Obstructive Nodes – The Etiquette of Complaint – A Pest Problem – Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Earth Heals – Silent Days – Vagaries and Savagery – Anne Charnock
Production – Pristine White – Pale Green – Tim Major
Bittersweet Feast – The Persistence of Swine – To Savour Dawn – Anna Orridge
In Praise Of Two State – Epiphanies – The Morning After – Douglas Thompson
Buoy – Perfect Citizen – Mother – Nadya Mercik
A Peculiar Job – The Wash – Someone Waiting for Me – Liam Hogan
The Library is Perfect – An Error – Underwater – Fiona Mossman
Education – The Final Ingredient – The Cost of Living – Ian Whates
Art-crime – Artifacts – Age of Birds – Michael Teasdale
Anatomy of Emotion – The Carving of Chance – Seize the Moon – Ana Sun
Swimming-Hunger – A Rusted Drum – A Ruinous Discovery – Rayn Epremian
The Integral – True Literature – Everything Is Blooming – Sofia Samatar
About the Stories