The Quiet at the End of the World features two characters who study STEM, just like my other books (I have a niche, and it is intensely nerdy characters). This time, Lowrie, the protagonist, is an engineer and her best friend-slash-lifelong-crush Shen studies evolutionary biology. They are also both archaeologists, but they would never call themselves that. Lowrie has her own workshop full of tools and carries a supply around with her just in case there’s anything that needs fixing and/or breaking open. Shen has a permanent stack of books he wants to read, full of information he hopes will help him understand the crumbling civilisation around them. He’s not so great at the physical side of things, but he has Lowrie for that. She and Shen are the perfect team – skills and smarts, they call it.
Science representation in YA
Published by Wren James
Wren James is the award-winning British author of eleven science fiction & fantasy novels, including The Quiet at the End of the World and The Next Together (previously published as Lauren James). Their books have sold over 200,000 copies in ten languages, and The Loneliest Girl in the Universe was optioned for film by Amazon MGM. Wren is a story consultant on Netflix’s Heartstopper, which was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Writing. Also a RLF Royal Fellow, Wren is the founder of the Climate Fiction Writers League and member of the Society of Authors’ Sustainability steering Committee. They work as a consultant on climate storytelling with a focus on providing optimism and hope. They have won the Sustainable Story Award and been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, Carnegie Medal and STEAM Book Award. Wren’s writing has been described as ‘gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘a strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly. Their latest titles are Last Seen Online, a crime thriller set in the world of fandom, and The Victors, a cosy fantasy graphic novel illustrated by Beth Fuller. Wren was born in 1992, and has a Masters degree from the University of Nottingham, where they studied Chemistry and Physics. They run a Queer Writers group in Coventry. Follow them on Instagram & TikTok at @wrenjameswriter or find out more at wrenjames.co.uk. View more posts
Wren James 
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