Australian author Kate Orman makes her Analog debut in our [Jan/Feb issue, on sale now] with “Iron Star Swing,” a story inspired by scientists’ predictions of the future and the people, such as librarians, who work to preserve and share knowledge. Learn more about Kate’s fiction in the Doctor Who universe, along with her past work as a university librarian, in this Q&A
Analog Editor: What is the story behind this piece?
Kate Orman: I’ve become fascinated by scientists’ predictions of the extreme future of our universe. Right now we’re still living in the aftermath of the Big Bang, in a beautiful, starry time, full of movement and energy. But most of the universe’s lifetime will be spent in lonely darkness, as everything cools towards absolute zero. If intelligent beings are going to survive, they’ll have to find extraordinary ways of doing it.
AE: Is this piece part of a greater universe of stories?
KO: I hope it will be! I can imagine intelligent life re-inventing itself in many new forms as space stretches out between the dying stars. Numberless civilisations will struggle to find new sources of energy, and to pass on their knowledge and culture.
AE: Who or what are your greatest influences and inspirations?
KO: Doctor Who taught me to respect the science in science fiction, but to not be straitjacketed by it, or intimidated by it—to play freely with ideas. As a teenager, I wrote (and illustrated!) terrible Larry Niven fan fiction. Much more recently I re-discovered Greg Egan—his astonishing novel Diaspora may be my favourite SF book read as an adult.
AE: What other projects are you currently working on?
KO: I’ve written fifteen books based on Doctor Who, and I hope to write many more! But at the moment, I’m working on a science fiction novel that’s completely my own. It’s about universes colliding (literally), and the danger of early success—when you’re no longer young, can you recapture those glory days?
AE: What is your process?
KO: Before I start hammering the keyboard, I gather an enormous, jumbled file of notes: ideas for plot beats, bits of research, lines of dialogue, images, jokes, character names, etc. I draw from other files of ideas I’ve gathered over the years, as well as an absurdly large, partially organised collection of bookmarks. Once I think I’ve got everything I need, I start taking all these elements and putting them into a new file in approximate plot order. That eventually gives me enough of a skeleton that I can start writing.
AE: How do you deal with writers’ block?
KO: If I get stuck while banging out prose, one of two things is happening: I haven’t worked the story out properly, and I don’t know where I’m headed; or the scene I’m working on is boring me as much as it would bore the reader! Either situation means I need to stop trying to write and solve the problem.
AE: What are you reading right now?
KO: I’ve just started Artifice and Access: an Anthology of Disability in Fantasy, edited by Ella T. Holmes.
AE: Do you have any advice for up-and-coming writers?
KO: When I was little I was reading the letters page in an Archie comic, and a young, hopeful writer had asked for advice. The comic’s answer was just this: “Write! Write! Write!” I never forgot it. Something I’ve learned more recently, while accumulating rejection slips, is not to think of any individual story as especially important, but as just one of many, many stories you’ll write during your career.
AE: Many of our Analog authors are interested in science. Do you have any scientific background, and does it impact your fiction?
KO: I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Sydney, where I studied genetics. Unfortunately for my ambition to cure cancer, I turned out to be worse than useless in a laboratory! Maybe that’s why, as a writer, I haven’t made much use of my training as a biologist. Perhaps it’s time to return to it for inspiration.
AE: What careers have you had and how do they affect your writing?
KO: For many years I worked at Macquarie University Library. I started work just before the World Wide Web began to take off. In those days, if you wanted to do research for a story, libraries and librarians were your best bet for finding information, and a university library is absolutely packed with resources. So I was ridiculously lucky. And as you can perhaps see from “Iron Star Swing,” it gave me a healthy respect for the people who preserve knowledge and make it available to all. In fact, I’ve just started a course in library and information studies, in the hopes of being part of the profession again.
AE: How can our readers follow you and your writing? (IE: Social media handles, website URL . . .)
KO: I’m on Bluesky as kateorman.bsky.social, and I keep a record of what I publish at kateorman.wordpress.com.
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