Abstract: It Doesn't Have To Be This Way, the highly anticipated debut novel by South African author Alistair Mackay, tells the story of three queer friends trying to navigate an increasingly fractured, violent and unstable world ravaged by climate collapse and rampant inequality. Within a few short years, climate collapse leaves Cape Town a vast and arid slum. Those who can afford to leave have fled to the New Temperate Zones, and to The Citadel on Signal Hill, ensconced in a climate-controlled dome behind The Wall. But at what cost? Here, residents pass their days lost in virtual reality, courtesy of a biotech implant connected to their minds, refusing to see what goes on around them. In the present day, before the Change, Luthando sees the way the world is headed and tries to avert disaster, but his activism leads to clashes with the government. As their lives begin to unravel, his life partner, Viwe, becomes embroiled in the religious end-of-days fanaticism sweeping the city. And their friend Malcolm fears that his work developing mental and emotional software is being used for sinister purposes. It Doesn't Have to Be This Way is a profoundly moving story of resilience and tenderness, and our capacity for love in the face of fear.

Bio: Alistair Mackay writes fiction and non-fiction that explores queerness, marginalisation, social justice and climate change. He has been published in a number of South African media titles, such as Financial Mail and Daily Maverick, and was a regular columnist for Mambaonline and MarkLives. His short stories have been published in Commonwealth Writers’ Adda Magazine, Brittle Paper, New Contrast, The Kalahari Review, and in the anthologies Queer Africa: Selected Stories, and Queer Africa II, which was a finalist in the 2017 Lambda Literary Awards. He holds an MA in Politics from Edinburgh University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Born and raised in Johannesburg, he lives in Cape Town with his husband and pug. It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way is his first novel.

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