Polytopias: The Missing Speculative Genre

Introducing PolytopiasThe word polytopia means “many places”. Unlike dystopias and utopias — which begin or end on the precipice of change — polytopias show the change from one state to another. They are stories that depict many people, many places, at many times. They demonstrate the incremental steps required to shift a system and how those syste... See more

We get trapped in thinking about utopias and dystopias as a binary rather than two ends of a spectrum. Both extremes present static images of the future that capture a distinct point in time. When we reframe them as a spectrum, we open up new possibilities for stories that lie in between. Not only does that allow for more nuanced and blended vision... See more

The word polytopia means “many places”. Unlike dystopias and utopias — which begin or end on the precipice of change — polytopias show the change from one state to another. They are stories that depict many people, many places, at many times. They demonstrate the incremental steps required to shift a system and how those systems interact with peopl... See more