David Guenette, author of The Steep Climes Quartet, talks about his literary climate fiction series and about climate change in the Berkshires over the next 30 years, reading excerpts from the books. Kill Well (Book One), takes place in 2026 and, like all the books in this series, is centered on Berkshire County residents facing everyday challenges that are increasingly affected by climate change and a killer-for-hire tracking down some unfinished business in Housatonic. Dear Josephine (Book Two) takes place in 2029, and economic struggles continue for everyday folk in the Berkshires, but a massive early season hurricane that destroys Miami and the Gold Coast becomes the story that dominates the news, at least until the reports of a group calling themselves Kill the Rich start sending in claim letters.
The talk discusses the latest understanding of climate change and what is to come, but one often unmentioned element is that climate change is expensive, and costs are going up. Know what is much more expensive? Not dealing with climate change.
Participants will get a sense of what’s coming and how we must work together to keep climate change from getting even worse.
The author will also talk about books Three and Four of The Steep Climes Quartet, slated for publication for Spring 2026 and Fall 2026, respectively: Over Brooklyn Hills takes place in 2035, and people escaping the hot summer cities are straining housing and the patience of full-time Berkshire residents, and big trouble is brewing and the towns need to figure out how to handle the unrest. Farm to Me takes place in 2047, when agriculture is undergoing something of a renaissance in the Northeast, driven by lower crop yields in the drought-stricken West, and further supported by carbon tax credits that help New England farmers using regenerative agriculture techniques, but an effort to consolidate food distribution in the Northeast leads to extortion and murder.
This talk is supported by Mass Cultural Council and the Pittsfield Cultural Council (May 21) and Great Barrington Cultural Council (May 23).
