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In Other Worlds: A Space Exploration

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The Walrus Lab Hire The Walrus Lab Amazon First Novel Award

Amazon First Novel Award

Paint’s a skin / and then it’s a sinking dream / for the gaze

Where the seedling body, wearing a smock or a backwards old

dress shirt, makes a map: two wells of colour in an egg carton,

glossed paper, thick-handled brush. Start with a burst

of solar egg, streak with sea. That clotted bloom of overlap, beheld

—duckweed, algae, moss—paint’s a skin and then it’s a sinking dream

for the gaze. Verdant island blotting at the shores,

and the grass is nowhere greener, nowhere is it greener than this place.

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March 19, 2026March 19, 2026

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March 18, 2026March 18, 2026

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I’m Brett, a contributing writer with The Walrus. This winter, I reported from Nuuk, Greenland, the quiet capital transformed by the threat of an American invasion into an unlikely stage for a global showdown.

What struck me was how deeply the threats had unsettled residents. People were on edge. But I was also struck by their willingness to share their stories.

The Walrus knows you need to hear from people who live in these places, and from reporters who are actually there. When you support The Walrus, you’re supporting real journalism.

The Walrus is investing in on-the-ground reporting while other newsrooms are getting slashed by corporate owners. We need your help to send writers where they should be.

Our goal was to raise $30,000 before the end of the month. Will you join the 400 members who’ve donated already?

I’m Brett, a contributing writer with The Walrus. This winter, I reported from Nuuk, Greenland, the quiet capital transformed by the threat of an American invasion into an unlikely stage for a global showdown.

What struck me was how deeply the threats had unsettled residents. People were on edge. But I was also struck by their willingness to share their stories.

The Walrus knows you need to hear from people who live in these places, and from reporters who are actually there. When you support The Walrus, you’re supporting real journalism.

The Walrus is investing in on-the-ground reporting while other newsrooms are getting slashed by corporate owners. We need your help to send writers where they should be.

Our goal was to raise $30,000 before the end of the month. Will you join the 400 members who’ve donated already?

© The Walrus