Future Tense Fiction: Stories of Tomorrow

Future Tense Fiction is a collection of electrifying original stories from a veritable who’s-who of authors working in speculative literature and science fiction today.

Featuring Carmen Maria Machado, Emily St. John Mandel, Charlie Jane Anders, Paolo Bacigalupi, Madeline Ashby, Mark Oshiro, Meg Elison, Maureen McHugh, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Hannu Rajaniemi, Annalee Newitz, Lee Konstantinou, and Mark Stasenko—Future Tense Fiction points the way forward to the fiction of tomorrow.

A disease surveillance robot whose social programming gets put to the test. A future in which everyone receives universal basic income—but it’s still not enough. A futuristic sport, in which all the athletes have been chemically and physically enhanced. An A.I. company that manufactures a neural bridge allowing ordinary people to share their memories. Brimming with excitement and exploring new ideas, the stories collected by the editors of Slate’s Future Tense are philosophically ambitious and haunting in their creativity. At times terrifying and heartwrenching, hilarious and optimistic, this is a collection that ushers in a new age for our world and for the short story.

A partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University, Future Tense explores how emerging technologies will change the way we live, in reality and fiction.

Praise for Future Tense Fiction: Stories of Tomorrow

"This dynamic, dud-free anthology of 14 short stories written by some of speculative fiction’s greats provides gripping, convincing glimpses into various near futures... essential reading for anyone intrigued by what might come next for humankind." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Because of the diversity of its authorship, this anthology does more than imagine what the world might be like if all of our perspectives were included. Instead, it moves past the picture of representation to a clear, uncompromising, imaginative look at just what it is we are all included in." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"This speculative short story collection asks the reader intriguing questions about our future, investigating the possible stories to be found in upcoming innovations... bring[ing] together an exciting table of contents that features many of the best speculative fiction and surrealist authors of the moment... often haunting... these 14 intelligent and complex stories hold both hopes and fears for our future, presenting poignant and fascinating tales of what we should consider as we alter our world." —Booklist, Leah von Essen