All the Orphans in the Galaxy

Carly Brown, MA 2014

All the Orphans in the Galaxy follows two parallel and interlocking stories. In the wake of a personal tragedy, a teenage girl in contemporary Texas becomes obsessed with VHS recordings of a 1990s’ sci-fi show. At a space station in a distant future, a young woman, who calls herself Carly Simon, plays 1960s’ protest songs on an old acoustic guitar and has an unexpected meeting with a disgraced former soldier.

Isolation, grief, personal and political histories weave together in this playful, post-modern novella, which explores the power of storytelling to connect us with each other.

‘Gorgeously geeky and beautifully heartstring-tugging, All the Orphans is a deep space love song to the redemptive power of art.’ - Zoë Strachan

‘Vibrant, pacy…a space narrative which deftly puts ‘being human’ in perspective. A funny, insightful and sometimes poignant tale from a compelling new voice in Science Fiction!’ - Sandra Ireland

'This is a wonderful novella that is simply and exquisitely formed...Carly Brown has written for us a playful, sad, sexy set of tipping-point stories and I encourage you to drop what you’re doing and treat yourself to All the Orphans in the Galaxy.’ - Elizabeth Reeder

Dr Carly Brown is a writer originally from Austin, Texas and now living in Edinburgh. She is the author of a bestselling children’s picture book, I Love St Andrews, and two poetry pamphlets, Grown Up Poetry Needs to Leave Me Alone, and Anastasia, Look in the Mirror (commended for the 2021 Callum Macdonald Memorial Award). Known for her lively and witty spoken word poetry, Carly has performed at Glastonbury Festival, StAnza Poetry Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. She was Scotland’s National Champion of Slam Poetry (2013) and ranked fourth at the World Series of Slam Poetry in Paris. All the Orphans in the Galaxy is her first work of fiction. Website: https://carlyjbrown.com 

ISBN: 978-1-912917-45-7