Habitat Press published this little gem of an anthology in November 2024, following a Green Stories ‘Microbes to the Rescue!’ short story competition sponsored by the Environmental Biotechnology Network (EBNet) and the ‘Clean vs Green’ short story competition, supported by the University of Southampton.
The goal was to raise awareness of the environmental and health implications of over-cleaning. Many of us are now aware of the ‘beneficial bacteria’ in our gut. Yet we still scrub off all the friendly bacteria on our skin that have evolved to keep our skin healthy and clean.
Persuaded by misleading marketing blurbs claiming ‘this kills 99% of all germs’, we expose our lungs and environments to sometimes dangerous levels of volatile organic compounds. Indeed, most information reaching the public about cleaning has come from the advertising industry, not health professionals.
This collection of short stories invites you to enter the fascinating world of microorganisms. Microbes live on our skin, keep ecosystems healthy, fight pollution and turn waste into resources. Each author brought something different to this anthology which is what makes it so rich. One story is written by a microbiologist who was keen to share why she found these tiny life forms so fascinating and so useful too. Some stories bring the bacteria to life and give them personality. Others unfold close to our everyday lives, some in the wonderland of tiny heroes, and some take us into an imaginative future.
We talked to a few of the authors who contributed a story to this anthology.
Adrian Ellis, author of The Society for Organ Welfare
I was delighted and very grateful to have my short story, The Society for Organ Welfare, chosen in the Stories from the Microbial World competition, and to be the first story in the collection. The idea for it came to me after I wrote my non-fiction book Civilization is a System of Abusive Control. I realised that the endemic problem of abusive control not only extends throughout society and our lives. We even abusively control our own bodies. The Society for Organ Welfare naturally followed from that idea.
Unfortunately, we’re not just abusing each other and our bodies. We’re also abusing the planet. I’ve been wrestling with that subject since 1992, when I first became aware of global warming. I’ve done my best to write about it, but it’s a tricky subject for two reasons:
1) People generally don’t want to know that they’re collectively responsible for global destruction.
2) People really don’t want to do what’s necessary to stop that destruction, which is effectively to live the life of a monk.
To get around that problem, I’ve tried to use comedy, science-fiction and other genre themes to get these climate ideas across without boring or alienating the reader. My next climate-change-themed story is an example of that approach. In the near future, as the climate worsens, Humanity, living in their protected habitats, are so filled with guilt and unhappiness that these negative emotions ooze out of their bodies as a thick, inky-dark liquid. To their horror, their semi-underground dwellings begin to fill up with their own misery and shame. They’re soon faced with a terrible dilemma. Either leave their habitat and enter a scorching Earth, or drown in their own guilt. What happens next, I’ll keep secret for now! 🙂
Rab Ferguson author of The New Normal
I’m Rab Ferguson, author of The New Normal in the Stories of the Microbial World anthology as well as the award-winning The Late Crew Middle Grade series about young carers meeting aliens!
There’s a lot that connects The New Normal to The Late Crew. They are both written for Middle Grade (8-11), but I sneakily hope that adults will enjoy them as well. And they both use a bit of magic, something out of this world, to talk about something real life and serious. Which I always think is a really fun way to write!
In The New Normal, it all starts with an avocado. The story is set mid-COVID (what’s the opposite of nostalgia?), and Willow’s Dad is struggling with worrying about germs. When she sees him wiping down an avocado from the shop with an anti-bac wipe, she knows something isn’t right. But then, her room starts to get bigger – wait, no! Willow is actually shrinking. She becomes tiny, and meets some of the bacteria Dad is so afraid of, and realises that most of them are not so bad after all.
Whether it’s bacteria or young carers, fiction is a great way to talk about real issues and real life. Whether for children or adults, it provides a safe space a step to the side of the world, where you can discuss topics through story. This is part of what makes Stories of the Microbial World great. If you haven’t yet, I’d strongly recommend reading it!
To find out more about Rab’s writing, visit: www.thelatecrew.co.uk
Denise Baden, author of The Pitch
My story, The Pitch grew out of a scene in my first novel, Habitat Man, which itself was inspired by a visit from a green garden consultant back in 2019. He opened my eyes to the extraordinary amount of life in the soil. I realised pesticides were destroying far more than the odd weed. Even everyday things like pet worming tablets and flea treatments suddenly felt worryingly lethal.
When I read Stories from the Microbial World, I was amazed at just how entertaining, educational and fascinating the stories were. One of the projects I run in my day job focuses on sustainable hairdressing. Here, I discovered how excessive hot water and shampoo can strip away the friendly bacteria that keep our skin healthy. I was delighted that a couple of the stories in the anthology managed to share that message in such imaginative and entertaining ways.
The anthology also touched me on a deeper, almost spiritual level. Many religions talk about interconnectedness, about everything being part of one whole. I used to meditate on that idea, but it always remained somewhat abstract. These stories make it tangible, showing all the ways we are linked to the world around us through the bacteria that live within us. One of my favourite stories follows a cleaner who has exactly this epiphany and switches to gentler but equally effective cleaning methods, like white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. When you realise that around half the DNA in our bodies isn’t human, products promising to “kill 99% of germs” start to seem far less benign! We are not separate from nature, and Stories from the Microbial World is a beautiful, imaginative reminder of that truth.
Find out more about Denise on https://www.dabaden.com/