Anne Elliott (Fiction ’21) Interviewed by Leah De Forest (Fiction ’20)

LDF: I’m thinking about how, wherever we are in a writing career, we often see other people succeeding. And it looks like that peak is the big moment, right? You seem to be saying that for you, the joy is in the process, in being able to be that person.

AE: This is one of the advantages of putting writing at the center of your life as a middle-aged person. I’ve witnessed so many of my peers obtain success of one kind or another when we were younger. I’ve rooted them on from the sidelines, and I’ve been very happy for people getting great publications and critical acclaim, or sudden attention. But so often their experience is confusing. I’ve witnessed this over and over again: someone sells their book, and maybe I feel jealous. And then I realize how confusing it is for them to finally have that wish fulfilled. And often it simply isn’t what they thought it was going to be.