Night Wherever We Go

Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize 2023

‘A hugely impressive debut’ — SARAH WATERS

‘[A] haunting and moving story’ — SUNDAY TIMES

‘A powerful and inspired achievement. This one is not to be missed’ — NATHAN HARRIS

‘A haunting, powerful and utterly unforgettable read’ — RACHEL HENG

An intimate look at the domestic lives of enslaved women, Night Wherever We Go is an evocative meditation on resistance and autonomy, on love and transcendence, and the bonds of female friendship in the darkest of circumstances.

On a struggling Texas plantation, six enslaved women slip from their sleeping quarters and gather in the woods under the cover of night. The Lucys—as they call the plantation owners, after Lucifer himself—have decided to turn around the farm’s bleak financial prospects by making the women bear children. They have hired a “stockman” to impregnate them. But the women are determined to protect themselves.

Now, each of the six faces a choice. Nan, the doctoring woman, has brought a sack of cotton root clippings that can stave off children when chewed daily. If they all take part, the Lucys may give up and send the stockman away. But a pregnancy for any of them will only encourage the Lucys further. And should their plan be discovered, the consequences will be severe.

Visceral and illuminating, Night Wherever We Go marks the arrival of a bold, lyrical, and powerful new voice in fiction.