1. Hack Dystopia Explore Dystopias
These hacks engage creatively with the genre of dystopian fiction

2. Hack: an activity that has reading at the heart of it
Choose your hack
Hack: an activity that has reading at the heart of it
Scroll through and choose your hack

3. Take a picture that suggests the apocalypse has just happened
After
the End
Take a picture that suggests the apocalypse has just happened
Hack description: Take a photo which features a book in it and suggests the apocalypse has just happened
Time it takes: 20 mins
What you need:
Cameras/smartphones
How to do it:
Young people take their phones/cameras and shoot a picture in and around the school/library premises
Tweet the photos
Images
"The Road bleak scenery" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia -
Your challenge: Include a book in the photo!

4. Your Dystopia Imagine a Dystopia…
Tweet your dystopia or design a three-panel comic strip showing your dystopian world
Hack description: Imagine a dystopia and capture it in a three-panel comic
Time it takes: 30 – 45 mins
What you need:
Pens and paper
Smart phones
How to do it:
Working in pairs or groups, ask young people to discuss some of the dystopian worlds they have read about. What was different about each of them?
Imagine a dystopian world. How would people live? What would be their main challenges? Would people have evolved new skills or capabilities? What would technology be like?
Either: ask young people to write a 140 character tweet capturing their dystopia
Or: hand out paper and ask young people to illustrate this dystopia in a three-panel comic.
Share with the group

5. Hacked Worlds Hack a character from one dystopia into another dystopia
Write a short script of what happens next.
Hack description: Hack together two dystopias by taking one or more characters from one dystopian novel and placing them in another
Time it takes: 45 mins - 1 hour
What you need:
A selection of dystopian novels/stories
Access to internet via phones/computers
How to do it:
Watch the YouTube clip of Hunger Games and Games of Thrones hacked together.
Youtube link:
Ask young people to:
In pairs or small groups choose two dystopian stories and discuss them
Choose one or more characters from one story and imagine what it would be like if you transported them into the other dystopian world
Write a short story or script about what happens next. You could also use images such as movie stills to help you with your new script/story

6. Hack
William Shakespeare
@{willyshakes]
Writes the occasional story and poem
London, UK –
Imagine you’re in a dystopian story. Tweet from the future What do you want to warn people in the present about?
William Shakespeare
@willyshakes
14,234
5,321
3,445,234
William m
@ChrisMarlowe What would you know!?!?!? #idiot
William d
[Tweet]
Hack description: Tweet Shakespeare’s views as he wakes up one morning in Has he found a Utopia or Dystopia?
Time it takes: 30-45mins
What you need:
Copy of Shakespeare
Pens and paper. You can also print the Powerpoint slide to share.
How to do it:
Ask young people to:
Write 3 tweets from Shakespeare as he encounters the 21st century. Use one of his plays as reference to adapt his language for Twitter. Tweets can include tweets at other others, retweets or replies.
Share the tweets with the group. Select the best 5 tweets and add them to the PowerPoint fake Twitter profile.
Twitter template adapted from:
Images:
"The House of Leaves - Burning 4" by LearningLark - Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
William d
[Tweet]
Queen Elizabeth
Followed by TheSheriff and others
Follow
James
Followed by Blackfriars and others
Follow
William w
[Tweet]
William w
[Tweet]
#theplague

7. All these novels are dystopian
All these novels are dystopian. Judge the dystopia by the cover and write an opening paragraph…
Hack description: Judge the dystopia by the cover
Time it takes: 30-45mins
What you need:
Pens and paper
Access to internet via phones/computers
How to do it:
This hack is a twist on the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’
Ask young people which titles they have read. Don’t discuss any detail about the books at this stage.
Ask young people to:
Choose a book cover which they haven’t read. In pairs or groups, decide what the dystopia might be based on the cover.
Write the opening paragraph for the book.
Share opening paragraphs. Go online and read the first page and back cover on Amazon. How did your guesses compare?
Pictures taken from

8. Paolo Bacigalupi, author of “Ship Breaker.”
Dystopian Debates
Why do bestselling young adult novels seem darker now than in past years?
What's behind this dystopian trend and why is there so much demand for it?
“The truth of the world around us is changing and teens want to read something that isn't a lie.”
Paolo Bacigalupi, author of “Ship Breaker.”
Hack description: Debate the rise of YA dystopian fiction
Time it takes: mins
What you need:
- Young people with opinions!
- Dystopian YA novels for inspiration and browsing (optional)
How to do it:
In groups discuss views and share with the others.
See the hack project ‘Running a Debate’ to make this into a longer hack

9. Hacked reading?
Share on (available in November) Tweet us your #HackReading us