Build Better Worlds

Using the social science of anthropology, anthropologists Kyra Wellstrom and Michael Kilman guide writers and worldbuilders through the core principles behind real human cultures. Learn how cultural systems actually function and why believable worlds depend on more than surface level details.

What makes cultures work? How do race, gender, class, language, religion, medicine, history, and evolution shape societies in the real world? This book breaks down essential anthropological concepts and shows how they intersect to form living, dynamic cultures.

Build Better Worlds provides a practical toolkit for fiction writers, game designers, and speculative creators who want to build richer, more immersive worlds. By understanding how real cultures adapt, change, and survive, you can create fictional societies that feel coherent, complex, and authentic.

Whether you write science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, or tabletop settings, this book helps you move beyond tropes and build worlds that feel alive.