In Conversation with Lucy Nelson

Lucy Nelson will be in conversation with Beejax Silcox on her new book Wait Here- A dazzling collection of hilarious and heart-wrenching stories united by a ground-breaking theme: each is a sidelong glance at the lives of women who – either by choice or by circumstance – will never be mothers and who feel every way it is possible to feel about it. Simon & Schuster / Summit Books

About the Book

A dancer discovers she can never have children – a revelation that pales in comparison to the other ways her body has betrayed her. Two elderly sisters who’ve been inseparable throughout life make a momentous decision. A wet nurse at Coney Island’s infamous ‘Incubator Babies’ sideshow is haunted by the ghost of her own stillborn daughter. A young woman worries about the lack of male role models in her little niece’s life…

For the women in Wait Here, who can’t, don’t or won’t have children, childlessness is a hard-won prize, a freedom, a stain, a joy, a battle, a trifle, a conundrum, a wound, an uneasy comfort on a burning planet.

It is nothing. It is everything.

'A striking reflection on women’s lives in all their beautiful complexity … Funny and heart-wrenching, this collection will stick with you.’– Books+Publishing

‘I loved everything about this funny, touching, big-hearted, moving collection . . . Beneath/alongside/supported by the beautiful writing and Nelson’s lightness of touch is a subtle and original exploration of a vast subject: on not being a mother.’ – Lucy Treloar, author of Days of Innocence and Wonder

‘The stories in Lucy Nelson’s Wait Here explode received ideas about women and childlessness. Her characters experience not only loss, grief and regret, but also states less easily associated with not becoming a mother: joy, liberty, rage, relief. The stories are composed with such ease and frankness that their moments of grace – and there are many – catch the reader unawares. I loved the warmth of these stories, and I loved their grit too.’ – Chloe Wilson, author of Hold Your Fire

‘In Wait Here, each tender glimpse into the lives of women without children aches with immense insight. A deeply compassionate collection where every story feels like a gift.’ – Emily O’Grady, author of Feast

‘Lucy Nelson’s debut collection Wait Here is a triumph. These stories are blazing and tender, Nelson’s prose honed to pierce the heart. I loved all of these women and their choices, their disappointments, their torments and joys.’ – Kate Mildenhall, author of The Hummingbird Effect

‘Lucy Nelson strips away the myths and banalities surrounding motherhood and childlessness, revealing the complex and rich inner lives of women – all seekers: for connection, for understanding, for love, for respite, or escape. There is fluidity and empathy in the writing, so much playfulness, so many epiphanies. Nelson is an arresting new voice in Australian women’s literature. Watch this space.’ – Sian Prior, author of Childless: A Story of Freedom and Longing

‘There are startling and beautiful worlds in this book. Lucy Nelson has a rare ability to evoke lives and dreams in this unique collection of stories about women who are not mothers. Vivid, wry, tender and haunting.’ – Heather Rose, author of The Museum of Modern Love

About Lucy Nelson

Lucy Nelson has been published in Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Big Issue, Southword and elsewhere. She has received the Newcastle Short Story Award, the Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship and the Templeberg Fellowship from Writers Victoria. She lives with her husband on unceded Wodi Wodi and Dharawal Country. Wait Here is her first book.

About Beejay Silcox

Beejay Silcox is a book critic. Her work appears in high-profile publications across three continents and is renowned for its resolute (some might say, foolhardy) honesty. In addition to her writing, Beejay works as a professional reader: she's a literary interviewer, prize judge, festival programmer, editor and educator. And she has stories to tell. Beejay eloped to Las Vegas, escaped from quicksand, and drove to Timbuktu in a car held together with a bra-strap. She once had to be rescued – unironically – from a picnic at Hanging Rock.

About the Event
• Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
• Registration is required for this event.
• Accessible parking spaces directly below the Harry Hartog ANU Bookshop are available should you require them. Parking at ANU/Harry Hartog
• If you do not feel well, please refrain from attending this event.
• Disability Access available - please ask in-store.