Deborah Tomkins

Deborah Tomkins
is a ClimateCultures Author

A writer of long and short fiction and articles, who started writing about climate change to answer the question – ‘How, really, will it be?’


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.

 

Quarantine Connection

Deborah is one of our members featuring their work as part of the ClimateCultures Quarantine Connection series. We shared her piece, Archiplegao (an excerpt), on Day 20 of the 40-day series.

Deborah's ClimateCultures Posts:

Bristol Climate Writers Presents ... 'Desert Island Books'

Bristol Climate Writers Presents … ‘Desert Island Books’

Four writers of fiction and nonfiction (all members of Bristol Climate Writers and ClimateCultures) share the 'Desert Island Books' they discussed at a recent library event on climate change: Nick Hunt, Caroline New, Peter Reason, and Deborah Tomkins. Read More
climate grief

Grief, Hope and Writing Climate Change

Writer Deborah Tomkins chairs Bristol Climate Writers, who meet to critique their poetry, science or nature writing, short stories or novels. She shares their discussion on 'climate grief' and how psychological responses to climate change influence their writing. Read More