About Jenny
By day: cell biologist at UCL. By night: novelist, broadcaster, science writer, sci-lit-art pundit, blogger and Editor of LabLit.com. I blog about my life in science, not the facts and figures.
Category Archives: LabLit
In which we sort ourselves out
Writing space: the final frontier When you move into a new house, you unpack about 90% of your belongings in the first months. And then, of course, there’s that lingering tail that seems to get put off indefinitely. This asymptote … Continue reading
Posted in Domestic bliss, LabLit, Writing
8 Comments
In which an era ends
She was decent and hard-working. She seldom complained, even when she got herself into a jam. She witnessed my awakening as a writer, from tentative, cliché-prone beginner to confident, stripped-down wordsmith capable of earning money and book deals. She saw … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Nostalgia, Work/life balance, Writing
4 Comments
In which I’m published – in ‘Science Fiction by Scientists’
As the Queen of Lab Lit, a literary subgenre whose defining characteristic includes not being science fiction, people are often surprised to discover that I do actually like SF. But it’s true. I read little else when I was younger, … Continue reading
In which fiction infiltrates science
Two years ago I was honored to have been one of the recipients of the Suffrage Science award. Launched in 2011 by the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, this program involves heirloom jewelry, originally designed by art students at … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, The profession of science, Women in science, Writing
2 Comments
In which we respect the tough love: editing your writing is an art
Everyone’s a critic. But how good are people at taking their own medicine? Any why should writers strive to embrace and even welcome constructive criticism? I got to thinking about all this last night at Fiction Lab, our monthly science … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Writing
3 Comments
In which we recommend a classic lab lit novel in honor of the Pluto flyby
The big day is finally arrived: in just a few hours, we are about to get our closest look yet at Pluto. Call it what you will – planet, dwarf planet, even the last word in that classic American solar … Continue reading
In which Charles Fernyhough comes to Fiction Lab
One of the great things about being the LabLit Guru™ is that I am constantly receiving interesting books to look over. A stack of lab lit, yesterday – plus an intriguing hanger-on there at the bottom One of the not-so-great … Continue reading
In which we make a splash: Fiction Lab in the papers
A perplexing start this morning: a text from the lovely Sarah Main, director of CaSE, congratulating me on a mention in London’s Metro newspaper and wishing me “luck on Monday”. Cue breaking out into a cold sweat as, seeing nothing … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Stereotypes
3 Comments
In which we despair: show and tell is alive and well
I have a theory about best-selling authors. Once they have finally made their breakthroughs, they tend to get lazy. I have noticed that subsequent novels often become longer – just eyeball your collection of Harry Potters on the bookshelf and … Continue reading
Posted in LabLit, Writing
9 Comments
In which I am still largely at large: another mother in academia
Blogging appearances to the contrary, I am still alive, clinging gamely to some semblance of work-life balance as a new mother in academia. Not so new anymore, I realize, as Joshua hurtles, one milestone at a time, toward his first … Continue reading
