The Future of the Planet: Selected Stories of Anxieties and Hopes brings together works by young writers who received awards in the second edition of the Traditional High School Students’ Short Story Competition, organized by the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Cappadocia University in 2021. Comprising 22 short stories, the collection explores young people’s concerns and hopes regarding the future of the planet through a variety of literary forms, ranging from object narratives to climate fiction and apocalyptic fiction.
The stories span a broad temporal spectrum, extending from the past into imagined futures, and emphasize the interconnectedness of past, present, and future. While critically examining technology, culture, and various systems of human society, the young authors do not advocate their complete destruction; instead, they call for these systems to be reshaped within rational and ethical frameworks.
Rather than presenting only the anxieties of today’s world, the collection opens a window of hope toward the future while reminding readers of humanity’s responsibilities toward the planet. As the third publication in Cappadocia University Press’s Environmental Humanities Series, the book makes young people’s perspectives on the environment, ecological challenges, and the future visible through literature.
