"Do you have kids?"

It's a question I get asked all the time by well-meaning people who just want to strike up a conversation.

But how do you answer that question without shocking or offending people if the truth is that you suffered pregnancy loss? Or that you never met the right partner? Or you just didn't want children?

In order to keep the peace, sometimes those of us who aren't mothers silence our own stories.

That's why I'm thrilled to be working with co-editors Alie Benge and Lil O'Brien and publisher Massey University Press, to bring 'Otherhood - a collection of essays written by those of us who aren't mothers - to life.

We're interested in stories that may be heartbreaking or uplifting, funny and irreverent, about grief or joy, celebration or mourning. So far, our potential contributors have explored religion, Te Ao Māori, queerness, depression, feminism, body autonomy, grief, shame, and gender expectations. We’re ready for more.

We are now open for submissions, and we can't wait to read your stories. Check out our website for submission details.

When it comes to writing, I've always been a bit of a hustler. Back when I was writing plays, a group of us formed our own theatre company so we could stage our work. When I wrote songs, I became an event manager so the bands I was in could perform. And when I wrote my children's books and my book of short stories, Pet, I crowdfunded their publication myself.

At times I thought I might always be slightly on the outside of Aotearoa's writing community - so it feels pretty weird (and amazing) to be writing this blog post from inside my new office at the University of Otago, as the 2023 Robert Burns Fellow.

The fellowship kicked off in style at the recent Burns Night Dinner at Toitū Museum. The poet's birthday has been celebrated in Dunedin since 1855, and this year's festivities included poetry, the ceilidh, the ceremonial piping in (and stabbing!) of the haggis, wonderful music from the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra - and of course, neeps and tatties (yum!).

This year I'll be working on a second collection of short stories. Pet was a dark kind of book - but as we've all been through a dark few years with the pandemic, politics, and now the Auckland floods, this time I'm trying something different. The working title of my new collection is Delight, and I aim to leave readers with a sense of hope.

I'm also the recipient of this year's Winston Churchill McNeish Writers' Fellowship, meaning I'll be able to take up the opportunity of a residency in Hungary later this year. I'm already learning about Hungary and some of the delightful details - such as raccoon dogs, otters, and sour cherry soup - that might make their way into my stories.

The timing of the trip couldn't be better, and I'm so grateful to the University of Otago and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for what I'm sure will be a magical year.

But before I crack on with Delight I'm getting on with some other important work - setting up my office. The room came with photos of most of the previous fellows (made for the 60th anniversary of the fellowship celebrations in 2018, I think), so I've set up the first of what I'm sure will be a rotating display of inspirational faces.