Ellipses, Out March 5, 2024 from Dutton

Set in the glossy world of New York City media, this sharp and witty debut novel follows a young woman caught in a toxic mentorship with an older, powerful executive as she grapples with career, belonging, and the complexity of modern relationships in the digital age.

When cosmetics mogul Billie rolls down her town car window and offers Lily a ride home from a glitzy Manhattan gala, Lily figures this could be a useful professional connection. She’s heard of Billie’s storied rise as a business titan, the product of white New England privilege and one of the few queer women in a corner suite. Billie could be just the jolt Lily needs to manifest her next step.

A magazine writer, Lily interviews influencers, actresses, and fashion designers for her publication’s stylish pages, all while navigating office microaggressions. Stalled at work, she worries that her dream print career will soon succumb to the rise of social media. She is at a standstill, too, in her relationship with her girlfriend Alison. And Lily feels unable to voice her authenticity when others’ sliding perceptions of her mixed race and bisexual identity repeatedly drown her out.

Charming and hyperconfident, Billie seems invested in mentoring Lily out of her slump, from the screen of her phone. But their text exchanges and Billie’s relentless worldview begin to consume Lily’s life. Eager to impress her powerful guide, Lily is perpetually suspended in an ellipsis, waiting for those three gray dots to bloom into a new message from Billie.

Ellipses explores one woman’s struggle for wholeness, in a world shaped by digital half-lives and aspirational fantasies. In the end, this stunning debut novel reveals the rewards and challenges of forging an uncharted path on one’s own terms.

Praise for Ellipses:

“A mentor-mentee relationship as toxic as it is intoxicating.”

—Vogue

“A fresh take on power, manipulation, and self-discovery.”

—Kirkus

“Lawrence has an insider’s understanding of the media world, and digs deep into such issues as sexism, racism, and ageism. This marks the arrival of a promising new voice.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Wildly entertaining and sharply observed, Ellipses is an astonishing and riveting debut novel. Vanessa Lawrence astutely portrays a young woman’s journey of survival in the magazine industry—and New York City—as she navigates the shifting power dynamics among women and charts her own path.”
—Sanaë Lemoine, author of New York Times Editor’s Choice The Margot Affair

“An unflinchingly honest debut about the dizzying stakes of finding selfhood in a society that constantly threatens total consumption. Lawrence’s writing is as lyrical as it is incisive, exposing the bravery it takes to not be complicit in your own oppression. I couldn’t put this down.”
—Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty

“Vanessa Lawrence’s masterful debut deftly explores the definition of true agency, as well as what it means to be a revolutionary in one's own life. Every page is a prose treasure. This eloquent novel nails the pulse of an often ruthless New York magazine milieu while managing to make us laugh at its excesses and failures.”

—Carolyn Ferrell, author of the PEN/Faulkner Award finalist Dear Miss Metropolitan

“In Ellipses, Vanessa Lawrence captures the spirit of a bygone fashion era, whose heady halcyon days she and I were lucky enough to witness as young adults coming up in New York City.”
—Victor Glemaud, fashion designer