Resisting Dystopia: Alan Raw on Solarpunk, Storytelling and the Power of Community Broadcaster Alan Raw on solarpunk, Grokkists, storytelling, and community-led resilience, and why we must imagine better futures and refuse dystopia.

Resisting Dystopia: Alan Raw on Solarpunk, Storytelling and the Power of Community.
On Shifting Views with Willis.
open.substack.com/pub/shifting...

l finally got round to writing Leg-6 of the Euro Book Trek photo blog. Hope you enjoy a look in my favourite Venice bookshop it floods regularly. Substack link:-
https:/open.substack.com/pub/alanraw/p/euro-book-trek-leg-6-venice?
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EURO BOOK TREK – 5th Leg MONACO TO LAKE GARDA – Border Crossings, Alpine Stillness & New Pages on the Edge of Old Empires

Episode 5 of my Euro Book Trek Blog is live on my Substack for free: open.substack.com/pub/alanraw/...
#saltandseeds #alanrawwrites #grokkistpress #solarpunk #speculativefiction #grokkist #books #bookshopsoftheworld

EURO BOOK TREK – 4th Leg PROVENCE TO NICE – Rural Beauty, Tear Gas & Emergency Injections by the Sea

There’s a lot of photos in this one, some of them shocking.
Leg 4 - PROVENCE TO NICE – Rural Beauty, Tear Gas & Emergency Injections by the Sea ⚓️
alanraw.substack.com/p/euro-book-...
#saltandseeds #alanrawwrites #grokkistpress #solarpunk #grokkist #Nice #provence #football #PSG #teargas #books

EURO BOOK TREK – 3rd Leg TOULOUSE TO LOURDES & BIELSA – Stars, Sacred Sites & a Road Between Worlds

Many Thanks to all who have subscribed to my new Substack blog. It's been an amazing response, and I really appreciate it. Here's Leg-3 of my Euro Book Trek with my little book Salt & Seeds 🙂🙏
substack.com/@alanraw/not...
#saltandseeds #grokkistpress #solarpunk #eurobooktrek

EURO BOOK TREK – 2nd Leg NORMANDY TO TOULOUSE – Memory, Resistance & Storytelling by Sea and Stone

EURO BOOK TREK – 2nd Leg
A literary and climate-themed journey through Europe, one bookshop at a time.
NORMANDY TO TOULOUSE – Memory, Resistance & Storytelling by the Sea
Available now on my blog site

open.substack.com/pub/alanraw/...

#saltandseeds #eurobooktrek #grokkistpress #grokkist #normandy

EURO BOOK TREK – 1st Leg A literary and climate-themed journey through Europe, one bookshop at a time

Part 1 of my European Book Trek Blog, is available here on my website:

open.substack.com/pub/alanraw/...

#eurobooktrek #saltandseeds #grokkistpress #grokkist #cambridge #ely #books #speculativefiction #solarpunk

🟢 Writing the Future: celebrating Salt & Seeds, speculative fiction, and the launch of the Grokki... | Grokkist Network Join us for a celebratory gathering to mark the publication of Salt & Seeds by   — the first book published under the Grokkist Press imprint — and to open the doors to the Grokkist Writing Salon, a ...

This is Tomorrow!
Hosted by @nathanology_
FREE See you there 🙂🙏

network.grokk.ist/c/events-and...

#grokkistpress #grokkist #alanrawwrites #saltandseeds #solarpunk #speculativefiction

✍️ Welcome to Alan Raw Writes A journey through the bookshops of Europe, and what comes next.

I have succumbed to suggestions that I use Substack. So now it’s my blog HQ. I'm rewriting my Euro Book Trek blog as a Substack. It's free to use and read, so take a look and click the free subscription button 🙏
open.substack.com/pub/alanraw/...

#grokkist #saltandseeds #EuroBookTrek #AlanRawWrites

Cambridge and Ely were brilliant for bookshops and libraries. I’ll now continue my book trek I n France 😀🇫🇷
#SaltandSeeds #grokkist #EuroBookTrek #speculativefiction #sustainability #solarpunk

Started my Euro Book Trek! Driving 4000 miles from Hull - down the UK dropping bookmarks, chatting to bookshops & libraries. Hiding signed copies in France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium, supported by my publisher Grokkist Press
#SaltandSeeds #grokkist #EuroBookTrek #solarpunk

My little novel Salt & Seeds, is now published by Grokkist Press!
To celebrate, I’m going on a Solarpunk Book Trek; 34 days, 4,000 miles, 6 countries, visiting bookshops.

Find a copy: books2read.com/saltandseeds?ref=grokk.ist.
My page on publisher’s site: grokk.ist/books/salt-a...
#SaltAndSeeds

Another quick sketch of another character, this is Ash on her coastal research boat The Wild Margin. She’ll be going in my new book Salt & Seeds, being published by Grokkist Press New Zealand 24th June. I’ll recreate this in Procreate, ready for the book. #charectersketch #salt&seeds #grokkistpress

Haven’t sketched for years! But I’ve started developing my book characters by drawing them. Here’s Bramley. Called him Bram as his fang stick out (Bram Stoker), but Bramley is a kinder name for him. Could’ve fixed it, but it gave me more to write about 🙂 His book’s called Salt & Seeds.
#saltandseeds

Delighted to be joining a panel at Space Tech Assembly:
Here’s their announcement: 
 ⭐​ Alan Raw FRSA FSI is on the last panel of the day, discussing barriers to earth observation – and ways to tackle them.
#GalacticESG #WeArePanGalactic #Space #SpaceTech #EarthObservation

Happy Periastron Day!
Our lovely planet is closest to our Sun today. Have a great solar storm free orbit Spaceship Earth🖖🏼
#perihelion #PeriastronDay #space
Photo by NASA

How do you think seeing Earth from space would influence your perspective? How might it affect your resolutions for 2025? What are you grateful for from 2024.
Happy New Year🖖
#galacticESG #OverviewEffect #SpaceSustainability
#WeArePanGalactic #sustainabilityandbeyond

At GalacticESG, EO data helps us see Earth's complex systems. Seeing how the Gulf Stream influences Europe's climate, Saharan dust fertilises Amazon Rainforest, & how hillside trees defend cities from flooding, you begin to grasp Earth's interconnections and delicate balance.

You don't need a space tourist budget to glimpse that view. A lot of Earth observation satellite data is free from space agencies. Optical, infrared, & radar sensors, can show atmospheric carbon concentrations, soil moisture levels, and more with remarkable precision.

Edgar Mitchell's experience on Apollo 14, triggered a profound neurological response. His EEG readings showed increased coherence between his brain hemispheres, corresponding to experiences of unity and interconnectedness. That’s something we all need more of in 2025.

No borders are visible, just interconnected weather systems, ocean currents, and the flow of life across continents. This effect is often mentioned as a benefit in commercial space tourism circles. But its value is richer than you may realise.

The Overview Effect was first described by space philosopher Frank White in 1987. Can you picture yourself looking through a window 400km up. The atmosphere, which seems vast from Earth, appears as a thin, fragile blue line layer protecting all life from the harshness of space.

Photo from Nasa, by R. Wiseman aboard the ISS

Have you ever wondered how seeing Earth from space might change your view and future resolutions? Astronauts talk about a profound shift in perspective when they first view our planet floating in the cosmic void. Happy New Year!

Phot of the Humber Bridge with the low winter sun by Alan Raw

Of course any landmark old or new interacts with the sun in some way, here’s my photo of a local modern favourite, the Humber Bridge. Not designed to mark the sun’s moves at all, but they do look great together.
Happy Solstice!
#solstice #celestial #humberbridge #spaceshipearth

Is there a structure that marks the sun’s movement where you are and was it designed with the solstice in mind?

Now each day will gradually shift - bringing longer days to the North and shorter ones to the South.
How do you mark this celestial milestone where you are. What traditions help you connect with this special moment in Earth's annual dance?

Different groups mark this time in various ways as part of our deep connection to land and sky.
Whether you're experiencing the chill of winter, or the height of summer, this moment reminds us of our shared home on this lovely, tilted, Spaceship Earth.

Near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, the ancient site of Tiwanaku features the "Gate of the Sun," where the Aymara celebration "Willka Kuti" - marks the return of the sun.
Here in the North, Stonehenge and Newgrange were carefully aligned to catch the solstice sunrise or sunset.

This celestial event has deep meaning across cultures worldwide. At Machu Picchu in Peru, the Intihuatana stone - an astronomical clock of remarkable precision - marks this day when the sun reaches its southernmost position. Celebrated as "Inti Raymi" (Festival of the Sun).

To my friends in the North, happy Winter Solstice, we're experiencing our shortest day as the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the Sun. Meanwhile, in the South, it's your longest day of the year, as the Southern Hemisphere embraces maximum sunlight. Enjoy the rays.