Photograph: Climate Spring
A novel exploring the 'Disneyfication of nature' has been awarded the Climate Fiction Prize. Hum, the third novel by American author Helen Phillips, centres on a woman named May who loses her job to a humanoid robot referred to as a 'hum.' Struggling to find employment, she becomes a test subject for an experimental injection that alters her facial features, rendering her unrecognisable to surveillance systems. Upon receiving payment for the procedure, she splurges on family passes to the Botanical Garden, the only remaining green space in her city. However, during their visit, events take a troubling turn.
The prize, valued at £10,000, was first awarded last year to Abi Daré for And So I Roar, the sequel to her bestselling debut The Girl with the Louding Voice.
Judge and author Kit de Waal described Phillips's book as addressing the 'Disneyfication of nature ... turning nature into a rare place that we have to pay to see.' Fellow judge and climate scientist Friederike Otto added that the novel 'tackles the central reason that nothing is done about the climate crisis – privilege.' Writer Daisy Hildyard, in a Guardian review, called it 'mesmerising and scary.'
Shortlist and Inspiration
Alongside Phillips on this year's shortlist were Madeleine Thien for The Book of Records, Robbie Arnott for Dusk, Keshava Guha for The Tiger's Share, Susanna Kwan for Awake in the Floating City, and Maria Reva for Endling.
Phillips was inspired to write the book after walking home from work and having the thought that she needed to buy dishcloths, only to open her computer at home and find dishcloths being advertised to her. 'That eerie feeling stuck with me, and I started to think about what worst-case scenarios might arise from surveillance by an algorithm,' she said.
Praise and Significance
Lucy Stone, CEO of Climate Spring, which funds the prize, said Hum 'helps us connect with what really matters and stops us from sleepwalking into an inevitable dystopia. In the novel, the machines themselves start to question the insane volume of advertising and the consumer treadmill, and then show the family that there are multiple different futures lying ahead of them.'
This year's judging panel was chaired by Guardian theatre critic and former literary editor of the Independent, Arifa Akbar. Alongside De Waal and Otto on the panel were author Jessie Greengrass and book influencer Simon Savidge.
In addition to three novels, Phillips is the author of two short story collections and a children's book. Hum by Helen Phillips is published by Atlantic Books (£16.99). Helen Phillips will appear at the Hay festival to discuss the book on Friday 30 May.
