Deborah Tomkins

I am a writer of short stories, flash fiction, and novels, and the occasional article. I started writing about climate change in an effort to understand it myself and to answer the question – ‘How, really, will it be?’ This question was barely being asked 15 years ago, and certainly not reaching the public in an accessible way; nor were there any clear answers. I have written two novels about climate change, as well as a speculative novella, some short stories and flash fictions, most exploring climate change and environment in some way.

I also write about climate change in order to explore our emotional response to it, which is often mired in confusion and denial, not necessarily conscious. Stories are powerful, and our attitudes are shaped by the stories we choose - or choose not - to tell.

I am a life member of The Centre for Alternative Technology, and Trustee of UK organisation Green Christian. These two are important to me for reasons of faith - we can choose to give up, or not; we can choose to hope in the future, or not. Different kinds of faith, perhaps; both are valid. They inform our actions. I am involved in local and national environmental initiatives, and have occasionally facilitated events such as film showings (e.g. The Age of Stupid).

In January 2017 I founded Bristol Climate Writers to meet with and support writers of all genres who are concerned about climate change and other environmental matters. Fellow ClimateCultures members Nick Hunt, Helen Moore, Peter Reason and David Thorpe are some of the members. Our first public event was part of the Bristol Literature Festival 2017.

You can find Bristol Climate Writers on Facebook, and I can be reached at tomkinsdeb [at] gmail [dot] com. Twitter: @tomkins_deborah. I am represented by Matthew Smith at Exprimez Literary Agency.