Meet Anaïs Godard

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anaïs Godard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anaïs below.

Anaïs, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I didn’t! And honestly, I doubt I ever will. Imposter syndrome is like that one frenemy who always overstays their welcome. Every time I’m asked to speak somewhere or a publication wants one of my stories, my first thought is, “Clearly, they’re mistaken.”
In my younger years, this mindset wasn’t just unhelpful—it was downright paralyzing. I missed opportunities, didn’t submit my work, and ignored emails from gallerists and publishers, convinced they’d eventually realize their error. Once, a curator from an influential gallery left me a voicemail saying he was interested in my work. I never called back. Not exactly my proudest moment, if only because it was disrespectful to someone who genuinely reached out.
These days, I’ve learned to push through it—mostly because I realized that even if they are making a mistake, that’s their problem, not mine. If someone accidentally invites you to a dinner party where Margaret Atwood is attending, you don’t decline. You show up, grab a cocktail, and try your best not to spill it on her (easier said than done for a certified klutz like me). That’s pretty much how I approach imposter syndrome now: I fake confidence, savor the moment, and hope I make it to dessert before anyone figures out I’m winging it. The voice in my head that says, “They’ll figure out you’re a fraud” is still there, but I’ve gotten pretty good at drowning it out with the sound of typing and hitting “send” on the next submission.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I grew up in a tiny village in France—cobblestone streets, a crumbling medieval castle, and the kind of legends that make you believe in dragons. Storytelling has always been my compass, whether through words or illustrations.
In my early twenties, I fled my own dragons and crossed the Atlantic to rewrite my story. For years, I worked as a TV producer, crafting other people’s narratives while quietly dreaming of my own. Then I lost my job, COVID hit, and I gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl who turned my life into a different kind of adventure. When my daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, it was a lightning strike—the kind that burns through everything but leaves behind clarity about what truly matters.
I shifted focus. Now, I freelance selectively, taking on projects that align with my values while dedicating myself to writing and advocating for my daughter. My stories are shaped by life’s darker corners, but rather than dwelling in the shadows, I like to hand readers a lantern—or a spellbook. Magic realism and speculative fiction let me explore hard truths with a touch of wonder, transforming the unpalatable into something digestible. Fantasy softens the blow, even as it delivers the punch.
In my stories and my advocacy, my focus is lifting up voices that go unheard. Advocacy is an everyday fight—whether it’s securing services for my daughter or creating worlds where the underdog rises, even when the victory isn’t what you’d call tidy.
What’s next? I’m refining a collection of short stories and essays, trying to navigate the labyrinth that is the literary publishing industry—an entirely different kind of beast—submitting my debut novel, a dark feminist YA fantasy with grit and heart, and plotting my next speculative adventure.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Those questions really make me think! Okay, so, looking back, the three things that stand out are: my Master’s in Semiotics from La Sorbonne, learning to roll with the punches, and realizing no knowledge is ever useless.
The Semiotics degree felt impractical at first—wildly interesting but irrelevant, a diploma destined to gather dust. Turns out, studying signs and symbols is surprisingly useful when you’re writing about magic, metaphors, or just trying to make sense of life.
Second, everything that happens to me—good, bad, or downright bizarre—can be fuel. The childhood hardship, moving countries, switching careers, raising a child with a disability—it all felt overwhelming at the time. Later, it became the raw material for my stories.
And finally, no knowledge is ever wasted. That random skill, obscure fact, or awkward moment you think is pointless? It’ll find a way into your work. I once wrote an entire piece inspired by standing on a subway platform in NYC.
My advice? Stay curious. Don’t dismiss anything. The things you think don’t matter often end up mattering the most.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

Where do I start? I need a time remote—something to pause the world so I can sleep, write, and not have to choose. There aren’t enough hours in the day, and no to-do list seems to fix that.
Then there’s the publishing industry. Does anyone have a roadmap? Or a treasure map with a big red X that says: Start here, avoid rejection island, take Agent river and end up at Book Deal Beach?
And, of course, there’s the daily juggle: advocating for my daughter, meeting deadlines, and trying to remember who I am outside of all that. The challenge is real, but so is the passion.

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Image Credits

Cameron Jordan for the headshot

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