Helen Phillips Wins Climate Fiction Prize for "Hum"
"This novel helps us connect with what really matters and stops us from sleepwalking into an inevitable dystopia." – Lucy Stone, CEO of Climate Spring
Helen Phillips has been awarded the £10,000 Climate fiction prize for her novel Hum. The prize, now in its second year, was first awarded in 2023 to Abi Daré.
About the Novel
Hum is Phillips's third novel. It follows May, a woman who loses her job to a humanoid robot (the "hum"). In response, she participates in an experimental injection that alters her face to avoid surveillance, using the payment to buy family passes to a botanical garden.
The novel explores themes such as the monetization of nature and privilege as barriers to climate action.
Inspiration
Phillips was inspired by a mundane experience: being shown advertisements for dishcloths after merely thinking about needing to buy them. This led her to consider the implications of surveillance by algorithms.
Prize Background
The prize is funded by Climate Spring.
Finalists
The shortlist included:
- 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
- Maria Reva for Endling
Judges
The judging panel was chaired by Arifa Akbar. Other judges included Kit de Waal, Friederike Otto, Jessie Greengrass, and Simon Savidge.