Love Letters to a Future Ice Age, Jonathan Wlodarski

Combining fabulism and climate fiction, the ten stories in Love Letters to a Future Ice Age survey strange, broken versions of the world that shatter our understanding of grief, labor, and solitude. The characters in this collection must adapt to the rising tides of change—some stubbornly, some willingly—or else be swept away entirely.

In “The Cake,” a drought-stricken town becomes obsessed with a confection served only at funerals. “When All The Ketchup Turned to Water” features two women plotting the demise of the ketchup factory where they live and work. And in “Pollution,” a man tries to rescue his boyfriend from a cult of influencers who imbibe pollutants.

Haunting, timely, and revelatory, Love Letters to a Future Ice Age asks us to consider how we navigate an unnavigable world in flux. Through these warped lenses, Jonathan Wlodarski’s debut establishes him as an exciting and imaginative voice. 

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The stories in Love Letters to a Future Ice Age excavate and excoriate the absurd moment we’re living with wonder, dread, and humor. Jonathan Wlodarski is a fabulist of the first order, with a witty and sharp voice, imagining possible catastrophes and new visions of our dangerous world, our folly and failures. This wonderfully queer debut collection is bursting with omens and symbols. Hallucinatory, playful, and addictive as a confection.

—Richard Mirabella, author of Brother & Sister Enter the Forest

The world of Wlodarski’s striking collection is ailing and decomposing, sometimes indifferent and sometimes actively hostile to its inhabitants. Love Letters to a Future Ice Age is funny, visceral, and unsettling, a moving depiction of lost and lonely people trying to find connection and meaning. There are moments in these stories that I’ll remember for a very long time. 

—Gabe Habash, author of Stephen Florida

From priest seeds to powdered-up debit cards, Wlodarski’s stories are playful and surprising, always using the play and surprises to consider something complex about the ways we relate to each other and the world. A real delight! Funny and insightful.

—Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade

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Jonathan Wlodarski is a graduate of the PhD in creative writing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His work has appeared in Ninth Letter, The Forge Literary Magazine, and F(r)iction, among other venues.