James to publish free serialisation of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe on Substack

Three-time Carnegie-nominated writer Lauren James will publish a free serialisation of her "out of this world" YA novel The Loneliest Girl in the Universe on Substack. It was first published in 2017 by Walker Books. 

The chapters will be released on Substack from 23rd February and end in December. It is the latest of James’ writings to be serialised, with a prequel novella to Last Seen Online released on WordPress in 2020. Walker Books will publish Last Seen Online in January 2024. 

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe is a sci-fi romance thriller with a "killer twist". The story takes place over the course of a year from the perspective of Commander Romy Silvers, who is the lone survivor on a spaceship travelling to a new planet. The publisher said: "Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth with a single passenger on board. A boy called J. Their only communication is via email and due to the distance between them their messages take months to transmit. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love. But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean? Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone."

James said: "I am unbelievably excited to be launching The Loneliest Girl in the Universe as a serialised novel online. It’s both a new and a Dickens-style way to consume a novel." 

You can sign up to receive chapters through email here.