CliFi Story Grant – Imagine a Robust & Regenerative Future. Then Make Us Binge It.
Type: Remote
Category: Part-Time
Solution Areas:
Regions: State Wide
More information
Tory Stephens on LinkedIn tells us: Climate stories on screen tend to go one of three directions. The world ends, technology saves or a lone hero does at the last minute.
The CliFi Story Grant is asking storytellers to write something harder. A future where we actually make it, and that story needs to be enjoyable to watch.
Their pitch is simple. Imagine a world that’s net zero, circular, and post-growth. Materially sufficient, emotionally rich, communally abundant. Then make that world the backdrop, not the plot. The ask is character-driven storytelling people would binge: Goonies-level warmth, Game of Thrones-level reach. The audience falls in love with the characters first, and only later realizes they’ve fallen into a hopeful vision of the future.
The details from LinkedIn:
$1,000 grant, plus royalties and credit if the project gets produced
Three ways in: a short story (max 20 pages), a TV pitch with a scripted scene, or a short video in any form
No experience required. Truly anyone can apply. No climate background, no screen credits, just the story
WHEN TO SUBMIT
By August 30, 2026
Winner will be announced during NYC Climate Week
Full details at Net Zero Institute and how to submit: https://www.netzero-institute.org/clifi-story-grant
If you’re a writer, send this to your writing communities. If you know screenwriters, animators, or speculative thinkers sitting on a story about a future worth living in, tell them about this.
