Hello! I’m a writer based in Edinburgh and (more recently) Germany – I spent two years in Frankfurt before moving to Berlin. I originally came to Edinburgh to study astronomy, and although I’m no longer a professional astronomer much of my writing explores the hidden lives of scientists and their work.
My most recent book is Schrödinger’s Wife (and other possibilities); my second collection of stories focuses on the role of women not only as scientists but also as patients, doctors, wives and cleaners. My long essay Night Vision examines the various meanings of outer space for humanity, and argues that we should do a better job of protecting it. In my novel The Falling Sky, a young astronomer finds evidence contradicting the big bang theory, and loses her mind. My first collection The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space explores real, historical and fantastical aspects of science. I’m co-editor (with Drs Gill Haddow and Fadhila Mazanderani) of Uncanny Bodies, an anthology of fiction, poetry and academic writing inspired by the uncanny.
My short stories, poetry and non-fiction have been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies including Mslexia, Times Literary Supplement, New Writing Scotland, Litro and the New York Times, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
My non-fiction book about what it feels like to live in Germany, and how I discovered more about the life of my German grandfather Ernst, will soon be published in German translation by Culturbooks. Deutschstunden explores the way we accommodate the past in our present – whether that past is human or cosmic. My ongoing blog also explores some of these ideas.