Future Britains - British Sci-Fi Anthology

Aim

24 British authors are making a short story anthology. Pre-order a copy to help fund our cover design costs & get acknowledged in the book!

For 30 days only - pre-order a printed copy of Future Britains to receive an acknowledgement in the final book. PLUS luxury hardback editions available, with the option to have yours signed by one of our awesome authors!

About Future Britains

Future Britains will be a speculative fiction anthology depicting alternative visions of a near future Britain, by British creators from across these isles. The anthology will present grounded sci-fi and dystopian short stories of varying lengths, supplemented with other content including poems and illustrations. Each work will comment on the social, political, technology, or environmental issues of today, by depicting perceivable outcomes and choices that Britons could face tomorrow.

By centering on grounded sci-fi and dystopia, Future Britains will explore plausible and relatable ‘what-if’ scenarios, and the topics that people in Britain (and elsewhere) are anxious and curious about right now. Our current ideas include themes around artificial intelligence controlling creativity, invasive corporate surveillance, living alongside robots, the collapse of capitalism, and mother nature fighting back against human over-population.

Representing Britain’s cultural and demographic diversity is key to the curation of this anthology. Future Britains will be available online and in British bookshops by Autumn 2026.

The Idea
It started with a spur of the moment idea on the train home from work. Impulse got the better of me, and that idea became a hastily drafted Substack note before my stop:

Within 24 hours, I had as many amazing British speculative authors onboard, who I have since found out represent the four nations of the UK, from the English south coast, to the Scottish Outer Hebrides in the north. We have English, Welsh and Scots-Gaelic speakers, and four generations of authors from Baby Boomers to Gen Z. One of my personal goals last year was to level up the number of female sci-fi writers I have read, so I am really proud that we have ten awesome women contributing too.

For the full list of contributors, read the announcement on Substack: https://solstories.substack.com/p/future-britains-contributors-announcement

The Project

As of early May, most of our story first drafts are written and we are organised into small BETA reading teams. As the curator, I will have sole responsibilities for producing and publishing the book. We want this anthology to be professionally produced for our readers. 

Any funds from this will be spent on professional services in the following priority order:

- Cover and logo design
- Proof reading
- Audiobook narration.

The anthology will be available in major online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both eBook, paperback and hardback formats, as well as British bookshops, but you will get your pre-order copy just before the official release date.

As well as a trusty old paperback, you can also choose luxury cloth-bound hardback option, with premium paper, decorated page edges, a bookmark ribbon, and more. And if you really want to support your favourite Future Britains contributor, then bag a signed copy!

Thank you so much for reading about Future Britains, and any support you wish to offer.

Subscribe to solstories.substack.com for more information.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 18th June 2026 at 8:11pm