Ann Packer: On Receiving Trusted Reader Feedback
In this interview, author Ann Packer discusses the warm and safe experience of working with the publishing team on her new novel, Some Bright Nowhere.
Ann Packer is the author of five previous works of fiction, including the bestselling novels The Children’s Crusade and The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, which received the Kate Chopin Literary Award, among many other prizes and honors. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and in the O. Henry Prize Stories anthologies, and her novels have been published around the world. A Bay Area native, she currently spends most of her time in New York and Maine. Follow her on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
In this interview, Ann discusses the warm and safe experience of working with the publishing team on her new novel, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Ann Packer
Literary agent: Sarah Bowlin, Aevitas Creative Management
Book title: Some Bright Nowhere
Publisher: Harper
Release date: November 11, 2025
Genre/category: Fiction
Previous titles: The Children’s Crusade, Swim Back to Me, Songs Without Words, The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, Mendocino and Other Stories
Elevator pitch: What if your spouse’s dying wish broke your heart? Some Bright Nowhere is a novel about a man whose world is shattered when his very ill longtime wife reveals that she wants her last weeks to be very different from what he’d been imagining.
What prompted you to write this book?
I once heard about an unusual situation arising at the very end of a marriage, and I wanted to explore how that might look and feel to the people involved and to their loved ones.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I had the idea many years before really starting the writing process, but from the beginning of writing to the publication was about three and a half years. The idea did change rather dramatically (or what passes for dramatic in the low-drama life of a writer). When I first set out to write the book, I imagined using the points of view of multiple characters: the woman who is dying, two of her friends, and her husband. I tried writing it that way and it didn’t work out. I was only able to write the whole novel when I realized that the story I wanted to tell, the point of view I wanted to occupy, was the husband’s alone.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
This is my first book with Harper, and the warmth and support I’ve received have been unparalleled: from the publisher, to my amazing editor, to literally everyone I’ve worked with.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Usually when I start a book, I don’t know much about the form that it will take. In this case, I knew very early on exactly how I wanted to pace the book and approximately how long (or in this case how short!) I wanted it to be. I think the surprise was in how closely I hewed to those early notions.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
What I always want for readers is that they have an immersive experience, that they will find the characters and their story deeply realistic, and that they’ll be compelled by what they read.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I think I’d advise writers to remember two seemingly contradictory things. The first it that you can’t know how your draft is working until you get feedback from a few trusty readers. The second is that the book is your book, and ultimately every decision has to be yours.
