Sam Maleski – queering sci-fi since 1996
Spotlight on …
What’s the common thread between Yasmin Khan and Marcel Proust?
Was “Kerblam!” ghost-written by Emmanuel Macron?
Is Chris Chibnall hopepunk?
Is series eleven of modern Doctor Who an eldritch necromantic ritual?
Is “The Woman who Fell to Earth” a remake of Predator 2 with less Jamaican drug dealers?
These are but a few of the questions dealt with in SHEFFIELD STEEL, a story-by-story analysis of the Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the titular character in BBC’s Doctor Who.
Featuring commentary on both television and prose story, this book aims at offering a cohesive picture of a complex and divisive series.The 2018-2019 run of Doctor Who is full of contrasts: a landmark victory in casting and diversity; but also a year full of varying-scale polemics surrounding the ways the show tackled race, morality and class politics. Rather than a celebration or an indictment, writer Sam Maleski pens, drawing from literary theory and symbology, an account of each story’s thematic landscape, attempting to unravel what they’re trying to tell us, and to find out whether their contradictions can be solved.
Published by Arcbeatle Press; illustrations & cover art by Rachel Johnson.
Buy it here!
Published Works
PROSE – FICTION
2020 – “Worlds Thousand A Of Shards The“, short story, in How to Survive the Winter, ed. Dillon O’Hara, Arcbeatle Press.
2020 – “Hearts of Gold“, short story, in Cwej: Down the Middle, ed. Hunter O’Connell, Arcbeatle Press
2020 – “Thesis / Antithesis / Synthesis“, short story, in Master Works, published by Elizabeth A. Allen
2020 – “Registred Clawmarks ™ “, short story, in Lady Aesculapius – Season One, ed. Michael Robertson, Arcbeatle Press
2018 – “The Sun and the Sunken City“, short story, in A 10 000 Dawns Christmas, ed. James Wylder, Arcbeatle Press.
PROSE – NON-FICTION
2021 – “A Bubble Away From the Liars – The Morality of The Sarah Jane Adventures“, article, in Sarah Jane Smith – Roving Reporter, Pencil Tip Publishing
2020 – “The Black Archive #49: Arachnids in the UK“, monography, Obverse Books
2019 – “Sheffield Steel – Essays on the Thirteenth Doctor: volume 1, 2018-19“, essay collection, Arcbeatle Press
Hire me!
If you’re a publisher looking for stories, please get in touch below!
If you’re not, I’d be more than happy to provide services against payment, including:
- Editing! Give me money so I can tell you everything wrong about your story/essay/thesis/speech at the Senate. Promise, I’ll be nice (but not too nice).
- Translation! I speak English, write in English, and was born in France. Also, I studied translation for a good three years at university. If you want to pull a Cyrano on someone but don’t speak the language, I will not rest until I find the accurate metaphor to convey your longing, I swear to god.
- Writing! You want to gift someone a story for a special occasion? I’ve got you covered, pal, don’t you worry. I don’t have hard boundaries regarding content, but will get in touch if I have an issue with your commission prompt.
In every case – prices start at 10$/1000 words, with possibility to adjust depending on the amount of content to review or produce.
About Me

I was born in 1996, in a Parisian suburb you’ll probably never have heard of if you’re not into city planning.
This was followed, as it usually is, by academia – the highlight reel of which includes (beyond some embarassing theatre performances in high school), a BAC L with “très bien” distinction, an under-admissibility at the Ecole Normale Supérieure’s entry contest (I got 19.5 at the English exam, dammit, it wac close), and two BAs, in English linguistic and culture studies & French literature, respectively. I’m currently completing my skills portfolio by attending a BA in film and screenwriting at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom.
Parallel to that, I started writing both fiction and non-fiction regularily, my first book, SHEFFIELD STEEL – ESSAYS ON THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR, being published in September 2019.
I can play the recorder, love to pet cats, can’t cook, and will never stop talking if left unimpeded.