Imagine a future you are excited to live in, that you can’t wait to get to. If it’s difficult, you’re not alone. Dystopic visions of the future dominate popular culture, but what if we empower each other with hope by letting ourselves dream? That’s why Yale Planetary Solutions hosts Sci X Sci-Fi, a new conversation inspired by South by Southwest (SXSW), between world builders and those innovating and inventing.
Author Annalee Newitz was Sci X Sci-Fi’s Creative-in-Residence
At a Glance
-
Scientific Panel
Yale scientists spark inspiration by explaining the most promising future technologies
-
Flash Fiction Contest
Compete for $600 in prizes for 300 to 1,000-word stories featuring hopeful futures
-
Creatives-in-Residence
Storytelling experts come to campus to share their knowledge about climate narratives
-
240 People
Engaged through Sci X Sci-Fi 2025 through workshops, lab visits, and panels
Sci X Sci-Fi 2026
Sci X Sci-Fi 2026 will take place March 26-27, 2026. This year’s focus is on new kinds of narratives that spark inspiration for hopeful, thriving futures. Look forward to:
- Creatives-in-Residence who bring expertise in indie video game design, board game design, and short stories
- A flash fiction contest with $600 in prizes
- A chance to try top climate indie games
- Interactive event at the Yale Center for Arts and Collaborative Media (CCAM)
- and more to be announced!
2026 Creatives-in-Residence
Stephanie Barish
Stephanie Barish is the founder of IndieCade, the leading stand-alone international festival of independent games. She is an award-winning producer and a prominent figure behind leading initiatives that are guiding games, digital media, interactive arts, and those who make them, into the future. IndieCade runs the annual Climate Jam competition, inviting game creators from around the world to make games that explore solutions to address a rapidly changing planet.
Tory Stephens
Tory Stephens publishes climate fiction, weaves networks, and builds relationships to forge partnerships that expand Grist’s reach and further its mission. As the creative manager of Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors, Tory curates and publishes climate fiction, to help people envision green, clean, and equitable futures.
“While Sci-Fi has a reputation for lifting up stories that often tilt toward dystopian imaginings of the future, Sci X Sci-Fi was a wonderful reminder that the genre can also challenge us to imagine a future where scientific advancement can benefit all of human kind particularly when we center the wellbeing of all people in that advancement.”
Dawn Leaks Ragsdale, Executive Director of The Center for Inclusive Growth and 2025 Sci X Sci-Fi Panelist
Can Science Fiction Help Us Envision a Better Future?
March 27, 2025
In an interview with YaleNews, Annalee Newitz, the inaugural “creator-in-residence” of a new Yale series called “Sci X Sci-Fi,” explains how science fiction can help point the way to a thriving tomorrow.
Scenes from Sci X Sci-Fi 2025
3
BIOMES lecture, “Avoiding Dystopia in Theory and Practice” at the Yale School of the Environment
Panelists Annalee Newtiz, Dawn Leaks Ragsdale, and Julie Zimmerman at the New Haven Free Public Library
Green chemistry students developed elevator pitches to share about their research quickly and clearly