All the Orphans in the Galaxy, my debut novella, was published in November 2022 by Glasgow-based indie publisher Speculative Books. It was shortlisted for “Best Novella” in the 2023 Saboteur Awards.

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.’ – Zoe 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

NB Speculative Books has sadly closed their doors in 2025, so copies of the novella are no longer available to order. If there are any updates on the book, such as publication with a new publisher in the future, I’ll share that information on my author newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. A big thank you to Speculative Books for publishing the book and many other excellent poetry and fiction books from Scottish authors. They will be missed.