Rananda Rich is the editor of The Last Plastic Fork and Other Green Epiphanies, an anthology of green flash fiction arising from the Green Stories Project 2025 writing competition.
Here’s our Q&A with Rananda
How did you come to be involved with Habitat Press?
A few years ago, I read the refreshingly uplifting (and hilarious) Habitat Man, published by Habitat Press. When the opportunity arose to work with Habitat Press’s founder, Denise, I tentatively put myself forward and was lucky to be accepted onto the Habitat Press team.
Have you always been an editor / how did you get into editing?
Annoyingly or helpfully depending on your perspective, I’ve always been an editor! But after some formal training and a career epiphany (geddit!), I became a proper professional editor in 2016. I have been editing and ghostwriting (it’s a blurry line sometimes) ever since.
Tell us a bit about working on the anthology, The Last Plastic Fork and Other Green Epiphanies.
Can you describe your editing process?
As one of the judges of the Green Stories Project writing competition, being part of selecting the anthology longlist is a huge honour. So, it felt important that we showcased the full range of original, imaginative, thought-provoking, fun and profound stories.
Once the stories were selected, getting the order right mattered, too, even though this is the kind of book readers can pick up, read for three minutes, and walk away with an entire reframe on any one of a range of eco-topics!
After that, I took a light-touch approach to preserve the unique voices and messages of the contributing authors, while also ensuring a consistent style to ensure the book is a smooth read!
What were the challenges?
The authors have been a delight to work with. But, with over 45 stories being included, the logistics of liaising with over 45 writers required me to draw on all my project and time management skills! Luckily, I love a spreadsheet!
As a flash-fiction writer myself, I noticed how many stories were bang on 500 words. I know too well the convoluted steps writers take to come in within the wordcount target for a competition. So, I was especially careful to make sure any editing changes preserved the integrity of this part of the writing challenge!
What did you enjoy the most about this project?
I’m genuinely changed by the process. I thought I was pretty environmentally mindful already, but I had so many vicarious eco-epiphanies reading this that I’ve stepped up my own green behaviour as a result!
What sort of feedback have you had on the book?
I’m incredibly grateful to the advance readers who’ve been overwhelmingly positive and constructive about the book. Huge thanks also to the sustainability pioneers and activists who have wholeheartedly endorsed and supported the book so far.
I hope this is the kind of book people pick up while they’re waiting for a cuppa to brew – or any other three-minute pause between activities – and walk away feeling cheered, changed, or charmed by what they’ve just read!
Do you have any questions book clubs could use?
The beauty of having 45+ flash fiction stories in one place, is that everyone is likely to find a character they can relate to, whether they are cynical about climate change or fanatically eco-friendly.
So, which characters and stories do your book club members resonate with the most and why? And who has changed their mind about a topic after reading about it here?
For instance, given we’re living in a time of AI, I still think about Claire Boot’s story O.I. every time I sit down at my desk.
Why do you think ‘Green Stories’ are important?
I love an absorbing story, something that whisks me away to a different place or time, or that allows me to inhabit someone else’s viewpoint for a moment.
Every one of the green epiphanies captured in this anthology transported me to a different way of thinking. Even David Harris’s Look at the Cars, See How They Shine artfully uses irony to deliver a provocative anti-green-epiphany!
Who are your favourite writers / what kind of books do you like to read?
I have always loved dystopian, near-future fiction – think Orwell’s 1984 and the like. But thanks to Denise (author of Habitat Man and founder of Habitat Press) I have discovered writers who write in a more thrutopian way such as Kim Stanley Robinson, Steve Willis, and David Fell. I never knew there was so much interesting eco-fiction out there! Beyond an absorbing story, these books have profoundly changed how I look at our world.
What do you do when you’re not reading, writing or editing?
I’m almost always listening to a book or podcast during dog walks, kid chauffeuring, and exercising! Besides that, I love doing crosswords, Wordle and other puzzles. Yup, even in my spare time it’s all about the words!
I’m currently just over halfway through a year-long challenge to write a 30-word story every day which I post on social media. Errm… so maybe I’m never not reading, writing or editing!!!
Do you have any future projects lined up with Habitat Press?
After reading Laura Baggaley’s excellent book Dirt (it ticks all my boxes of dystopian, near-future eco-fiction!), I have been very fortunate to edit Laura’s next book, Nourish, which is coming out later this year! It is incredible, and on a topic that every single one of us will care about! Food!
