‘My highest goal as an author is to make something seem incredibly, desperately real’: Meg Mason

Meg Mason is the author of the novels You Be Mother, Sorrow and Bliss, and, most recently, Sophie, Standing There, along with a motherhood memoir, Say It Again in a Nice Voice. A novel about bohemian parents, unemployment, the end of a marriage, and starting over at 40, Sorrow and Bliss was notable for its realistic portrayal of mental health and marriage and became a major international bestseller for that very reason. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize. Her first career was in journalism, beginning at The Times of London, later writing for Vogue, ELLE, GQ, Sunday Style and The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts.

Born in New Zealand, she now lives in Sydney, Australia.

In Sophie, Standing There, Mason takes the reader behind the scenes of literary stardom and anxiety. Sophie, freelance sound technician for literary festivals. She is a big reader and recently single. She hasn’t felt so lonely ever before in her life. But then, Sophie discovers Lilac Dunne, an author of great fame, through books, podcasts, and social media. She becomes obsessed – but it feels like love. There’s a slim chance of Lilac and Sophie crossing paths, despite their shared professional world. But what if they did?

Sophie, Standing There is a novel about readers, and what Mason insisted, by a reader. It is a moving, character-driven story,...

Read more