Cat Sparks is a multi-award-winning Australian author, editor and artist with a PhD examining the intersection between ecocatastrophe science fiction and climate fiction [Capitalocene Dreams: Dark Tales of Near Futures & The 21st Century Catastrophe: Hyper-capitalism and Severe Climate Change in Science Fiction]
Career highlights include five years as Fiction Editor of Cosmos Magazine, directing two speculative fiction festivals for Writing NSW, Panellist at events ranging from South by Southwest in Austin to ACMI in Melbourne to Science Fiction as a Lens into Future War seminar at the Centre for Defence Research ADC. Other achievements include Agog! Press, which produced ten anthologies of new speculative fiction from 2002-2008, working as an archaeological dig photographer in Jordan, studying with Margaret Atwood in Florida, 90+ published short stories, two collections – The Bride Price (2013) and Dark Harvest (2020) and a far future novel, Lotus Blue (2017) best described as ‘Mad Max meets Ghost in the Shell‘.
Calvaria Fell, a shared world collection with Kaaron Warren, was published by Meerkat Press in 2024.
Climate activist, artist, photographer, crazy bird lady.
@catsparx
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Cat, I am hoping you would be able to forward my message below to Machael Barry, who wrote the short story “The Endling” in Agog! back in 2002. I have no other means to contact him.
Hello Michael Barry, my name is Bruce Erickson, and I am a fan of your work through a unique connection we share. In 1996, Dr. Robert Webster was the Medical Director, and I the Administrator for Health Services at a community for the aging in Georgia. We found ourselves often discussing interesting topics at the end of a workday, and one of those discussions prompted us to send a letter to Nature magazine proposing “endling” as a new word.
In its inception, endling was simply a word for the last of a species or a familial lineage. As it grew in usage over the years, however the meaning expanded to fill a larger void in the English language, capturing the weight and urgency of the Sixth Mass Extinction and climate crisis, and becoming a metaphor for eco-anxiety, cultural survival, and the loneliness we experience living in these times. Over the past thirty years I have pleasantly discovered many, many usages of endling in science journalism, non-fiction books and novels, poetry, research projects, video games, art and exhibits, dance and theatrical performances, songs, albums, symphonies and more. Your short story “The Endling”, is one of the earliest publications using the word endling, and you are definitely the first to have used it to describe the plight of people (and a robot) facing extinction. I was particularly fond of the classic line “Every species must have its Endling”.
Dr. Webster, who sadly passed away in 2004, and I could not have imagined what would happen with endling. We were the first part of the story, but endling would never have grown to such broad and significant usage without the initiative and creativity of yourself, and others, bringing it to life. Now a few years into my retirement, I felt it important, and certainly long overdue, to thank you for your part in creating the story of endling.
I also want to thank you for using your voice and platform to educate and inspire people to protect our threatened natural world, and to validate the eco-anxiety experienced by the current generations. The current political noise attacking environmentalism may make you feel unappreciated, but don’t be discouraged. You are a vital part of a message that must prevail.
Is there any chance you would consider sharing how you first encountered the word endling, and what inspired you to use it in your work? It would please me greatly to hear your story, and your thoughts. No pressure to respond if you don’t have time, don’t remember that far back, or simply feel uncomfortable. Endling is freely available for all to use. Knowing that it is being used is for me satisfaction in itself.
Thank you for listening, and for your role in the story of endling.
Warm Regards,
Bruce Erickson (2bruce.erickson@gmail.com)