Original painting by Mike Marsbergen 

What a year, mothertroopers! We continue onward, as always. Into 2020 and beyond. The future is bright!

February 21st - International 4: SolarPunk

SolarPunk is a sci-fi sub-genre focusing on craftsmanship, cultural awareness, inclusiveness, community, grassroots activism, and of course renewable energy, all wrapped up in a decorative coating of Art Nouveau architecture (where art and architecture are one) that takes aesthetic influence from Africa and Asia. It often has social anarchist leanings and tends to reject corporate globalization.

Where GreenPunk was a green take on CyberPunk, set in a technologically conscious now and tending to have more sinister traits, SolarPunk was apparently developed by the Tumblr community as a direct counter-statement towards the gritty, not-so-progressive-anymore CyberPunk. SolarPunk is polished and beautiful and clean and free and sustainable. It is open and idealistic. It is the future.

Just as with last year's International issue, with International issues moving forward we'll accept stories from all languages, including English. Stories submitted for the SolarPunk issue should obviously be SolarPunk in nature.

March 15th - AfroFuturism

Sci-fi meets black culture and experiences, past, present or future. Though a good deal of AfroFuturism works are older ones that have been retroactively labelled as such, this sub-genre has potential to be huge. Common AfroFuturism themes are slavery and abduction, feminism, water, alienation from the greater society, and the reclamation of civil rights.

The fictional, futuristic East African country Wakanda, as portrayed in the movie Black Panther, is a perfect example.

April 12th - BioPunk

A lot like CyberPunk, but instead of focusing on computers and IT and tech megacorps, BioPunk focuses on the implications of biotechnology, including biohacking, DNA manipulation, and social control through biomodification. It's common for there to be illegally operated places where one can get superior biomods to what is offered on the conventional market.

May 10th - Utopian SF

Ain't life beautiful? The natural opposite to Dystopian SF, Utopians seek to illustrate a world where all our problems are solved through the power of science. Or are they? Just because the good guys are in power, doesn't mean everybody's happy... Rather than oppressive regimes, Utopian SF typically shows a government for helping all people.

June 7th - LGBTQ+ SF

Exactly as it says on the tin! Coinciding with Pride Month, we'll be tackling LGBTQ+ SF, which focuses on themes of alienation, equality, love, the concept of masculinity and femininity, and so much more.

July 5th - WattPunk 2.0

We haven't done WattPunk since Tevun-Krus #20. Can you believe it? WattPunk, if you've been living in a cave, is what you get when you cross the sci-fi -Punk with our very own Wattpad! Maybe we're all forced to write or die... Maybe Wattpad is the head of a global government... Maybe, maybe...

August 2nd - DesertPunk

Imagine a world that's nothing but desert! A big advantage to setting a sci-fi world in a desert is that it's easy to conceptualize, compared to a geographically and culturally diverse world like Earth. That's not to say you can't include diversity, but DesertPunk strives to make the most of little with technology tailor-made for such harsh conditions.

September 6th - DreamPunk

DreamPunk, contrary to the name, doesn't necessarily have to involve dreams. They can also be visions, drug-induced or otherwise. DreamPunk is surreal sci-fi, often merging with fantasy at times. To use a word the kids are saying while they take turns huffing a bottle of jenkem and blowing smoke up each other's asses: DreamPunk is "trippy." But it can be more than that, too—it can make you think. Think David Lynch doing science fiction. Alternatively, think some of Philip K. Dick's books and stories.

DreamPunk differs from AcidPunk in that AcidPunk typically takes heavy influence from the '60s and '70s, whereas DreamPunk... not so much, more of an '80s and '90s influence. Think of DreamPunk as maybe being a dissociating, dreamy relative of the psychedelia-drenched AcidPunk. Instead of classic psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin and mescaline, imagine something more akin to a ketamine, ibogaine or salvinorin A experience.

October 4th - Zombie SF

It's been a while since we did something spooky for Halloween! And that's just what we'll do this time around. Zombie SF. No, it's not just zombies in space! Maybe you've got a sci-fi cause for the outbreak?

November 15th - Best of 2020

We're keeping 2020's Best Of issue small and fuckin' awesome. See all those previous 2020 sub-genres? Let's get a brand-fuckin'-new story for every single one. Exclusive writer privilege is granted to tenured TK writers first, everybody else second. This is a tradition that comes from its ancient, humble beginnings as a TK issue of utmost secrecy. Don't ask us to write for it—we'll ask you.

December 20th  - A Very Merry Dystopian Christmas

The "Merry" is back, and so is the Ooorah Crew's take on Dystopian SF (with that Christmassy twist we know and love!) We haven't touched this sub-genre by itself—because loads of -Punk and non-Punk sci-fi stories happen to be dystopian—since Tevun-Krus #8. Man, that's a long time ago!

Dystopian SF is the opposite of Utopian SF. Where those are paradise, these are hellish and mean. Dystopians typically feature some form of oppressive government, but not always. The oppression can also come from the environment, as in post-apocalyptic dystopians, from the self, or from any other imaginable source.

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Keep on 'troopin, mothertroopers! Ooorah! Remember to join us in our 2020 thread and drop us a message. Check the external link!