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Weekly Short Read: Grubbers by Sarah Royston
This week on Book Worms, we were joined by Sarah Royston, author of “Grubbers” from Tractor Beam’s Fall 2025 issue, Something’s Rotting.
In “Grubbers,” an older woman living in a mushroom-farming refuge outside the city walls meets a recent runaway on the eve of a friend’s birthday party. She spends the day collecting the ingredients for a soup, the necessary items to make a welcome dress and her thoughts about the past, to make a surprise worth remembering.
Sarah Royston’s writing draws inspiration from queer ecologies and English landscapes, including her childhood home in the Forest of Dean. Her first book, ‘Fernseed: A Collection of Tales’ was published by The Braag in 2024. Her fiction has also appeared in Dark Mountain, The Rumpus and Crow & Cross Keys, among others. She works as a researcher at the Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University.
You can keep up to date with Sarah’s work and reach out at the link here.
Next month, we’ll also be teaming up with Sarah to host a soilpunk writing workshop as a part of Writers’ HQ’s Write a Short Story Festival! You can find full details on the event and sign up here.
Monthly Long Read: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Every month, we dive into a novel or longer piece of soilpunk fiction. This week, we read Chapter 1 of Annihilation, the first book in the acclaimed Southern Reach Series. Join the chat to read along with us and discuss! Tune in April 9 for our full recap of the book with author and special guest, Jeff VanderMeer.
Story Starter Showdown (a.k.a. The most soilpunk thing we heard this week!)
Claire’s pick: Soil Microbes Remember Drought and Help Plants Survive (ScienceDaily) Scientists discovered that soil microbial communities retain a “memory” of drought that influences how plants grow later. Native plants seem especially adapted to the microbial histories of their region.
Anuska’s pick: In Hooves We Trust (Offrange) Some cattle ranchers are introducing bison and other grazing animals as a way to help regenerate pastureland.
Who’s story starter was more soilpunk? Let us know in the comments!
Bringing Sci-Fi Down to Earth…
Book Worms is a weekly soilpunk read along series with Claire and Anuska from the Tractor Beam team! Join us every Thursday as we discuss both old and new climate fiction stories in an attempt to define the soilpunk canon with our community.
