A note from Anne Cleary author of The Nowhere Boy
Read a letter from The Nowhere Boy author Anne Cleary.
Dear reader,
The Nowhere Boy is based on something that really happened. My friend in America has a neighbour who told her how, when he was a teenager in the hippy era of the 1960s, he and his cousin were tasked with ‘babysitting’ a very young child. Same scenario: they went fishing, the child fell asleep, the young guys left him in the car while they baited up, and when they returned to get him, he’d gone. (In the true story, the little boy was found in a nearby meadow, much to their unfathomable relief!)
The reason I’ve called the child Apple Man is because this was the real boy’s name. I loved it so much and found it so intriguing, I didn’t want him to be called anything else.
The Nowhere Boy started life as a short story. As I wrote, I saw the potential for something longer and much more detailed. I wondered what would happen if Apple Man had been taken by someone, rather than just wandering off. What would be the reaction of Scott’s family and, especially, the little boy’s mother? And the person who took him; what would her story be?
I love to write (and read) about people who don’t necessarily fit easily into society. People with issues and disfunction in their lives. I find this kind of character somehow more relatable and more interesting than someone who is, for the most part, well-adjusted and doing well in life.
Writing a point-of-view character is exciting. It’s one of the things that makes the craft so much fun. You become an actor. You get to climb inside your character’s head and see the world through their eyes with all their baggage, all their prejudices and biases. Although the story is about a serious topic, I found ‘being’ Tessa, Fae, Scott, and Ray a lot of fun. I think there are many facets of humanity in their separate stories: guilt, despair, judgment, fear, longing, anger, love.
The character I enjoyed writing about most was Fae. She’s very real to me, and I found myself looking forward to being in her mind the most, while wanting the very best for her.
Some of the choices we make result in more catastrophic consequences than others. When we need it most, it’s everything to discover forgiveness and understanding, and someone in our corner.
Anne Cleary
The Nowhere Boy by Anne Cleary is out now.
The Nowhere Boy
by Anne Cleary
The stunning debut novel by the Winner of the Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize 2025. An emotionally charged exploration of what happens when one moment changes everything.
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