Release Date: November 14, 2025
Size: 6x9
Paperback ISBN: TBD
eBook ISBN: TBD
Library of Congress Control Number: TBD
Booksellers and Libraries: Order Info Here or at Ingram.

Synopsis

In the year 2050, what will Vermont look like? And will it be somewhere you’d recognize, or want to live?

Thirty-six Vermonters take a half-serious, half-humorous, half-ironic, half-dystopian and half-sympathetic look at what Vermont will be like in this unique collection of essays and stories. Contributors range in age and profession, from poets and journalists, to academics, farmers, and businesspeople, imagining Vermont’s future. 

The compilation begins on a serious note by novelist Stephen Kiernan on the many challenges facing Vermont now, then moves on to a mixture of humor, fantasy, and serious concern by prominent individuals such as Vermont Public’s meteorologist Mark Breen and cofounder and CEO of the Alchemist Brewery Jen Kimmich; author Bill Schubart’s afterword reminds the reader of Bill Mares’ lasting contribution to Vermont literature.

2050: Vermonters Take a Swipe at the Future is the final literary project of Bill Mares, who died in 2024. He expressly did not want a book that would be buffeted by politics, wars, or environmental disasters. It has been completed with editorial help from Jane Smith and illustrated by Don Hooper, a retired Vermont legislator and cartoonist.

Contributing writers include:

Praise

“By every statistical measure—volunteerism, trust in neighbors, faith in leaders—Vermont has more social cohesion than anyplace in the country. As this marvelous book makes clear, it’s that solidarity—that sense of underlying community—that will bring us through, in some form or another. Freedom, unity, beer, syrup, a commitment to our neighbors; as Ethan Allen once remarked, ‘the gods of the valley are not the gods of the hills.’ Long may it be so!” 

—Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of eighteen books

______________________

“My hope is that this collection of essays by Vermonters about Vermont’s future will inspire people to take action. It’s wise, insightful, provocative, and underscores the importance of being proactive. It is also a ton of fun!”

—Howard Dean, Governor of Vermont from 1991-2003

______________________

“Humans have a hard time seeing the future. With the exception of a few visionaries, we are a species mired in survival mode. But in this collection of essays, Vermonters dare to imagine what the state could feel like 25 years hence, based on knowns and unknowns. No one drives anymore. An 80-story skyscraper towers over Burlington. Most of the population is non-white and fiscally conservative. And yet, Vermont is a place full of potential and remarkable for its lack of nostalgia. A place apart from what we know now.”

—Anne Galloway, founder of VTDigger 

MEET THE EditorS