The most memorable moments in Coco Mellors’ novels—Frankenstein and Cleopatra and Blue Sisters—tend to arrive with a jolt of recognition: a feeling you’ve had but could never articulate, a dynamic so familiar yet so difficult to name.
Born and raised in London before moving to New York at 15, Coco draws heavily from the streets, social milieus, and parties she knows intimately. But it’s her ability to illuminate the murkier corners of human relationships that makes her prose so singular—and her books so hard to put down. Whether she’s writing about sisterhood, addiction, or the often futile acts of self-preservation born of grief, she has a way of capturing feelings that are far easier to bury than confront, and rendering them with heady precision.
Now pregnant (33 weeks, as of our shoot/interview) and a mother to her two-and-a-half-year-old, Indigo, Coco is—blessedly—bringing that same sense of sparkling clarity to motherhood and all its bewildering uncertainties. It’s a theme she explores in her forthcoming third novel, due out in spring 2027, and one she discusses with brilliance and candor in our recent Getting Sticky by Rachel Hodin.
Jen Steele, the Brooklyn-based photographer who joined us for Coco’s shoot knows something about all this. Also the mom of a five-year-old boy and in her third trimester as well, there was something eerily poetic, not to mention aesthetically pleasing, about watching Jen photograph Coco:
At STJ, we’ve long been fans of Jen’s work—from her fashion photography to more artistic fare—her sensibility is dreamy, sensuous, and naturalistic. And as a person, she’s one both lovely and grounded, making her subjects feel most at ease as she captures them at their most gorgeous. (See: her Coco images throughout.)
Of course, we had questions for both Jen and Coco.
Pregnancy simple pleasures right now:
Coconut smoothies in the morning, looking at little baby girl clothes, enjoying the the cool breeze of spring, good for bringing the temperature down.
What are you consuming right now? Book shows, exhibits you liking that are inspiring to you.
I’ve been diving into a lot of photography books. I have a collection of books that I’m reading in piecemeal, but the Rachel Cusk trilogy I’ve just finished, which is so special and a great reference for mothers, is a great starter pack for motherhood.
What’s your most worn item?
My Salter House white cotton skirt.
What do you feel most comfortable in at this stage of pregnancy?
Gym shorts, sneakers, and a button-down shirt.
What is a staple that’s in your bag at all times these days?
The Ilia lip tint in the shade Heartbeats.
What is your most worn item right now?
I think I am gonna say my most worn item is this With Nothing Underneath tuxedo shirt, plus I can wear it open, open my belly, and it just feels so like crisp and put together.
What do you feel best in at this stage of pregnancy?
I adore a caftan at the moment, things that are super drapey and airy, and yes have that diaphanous quality where the light goes through gorgeous things that are a little bit sheer but long. Yes, it just feels very goddess, beautiful and sculptural. I love it.
What are you consuming right now? Book, shows, exhibits?
The Tracey Emin exhibit in Tate Modern in London is one of the most profoundly moving shows I’ve ever seen in my entire life. The experience of being in a woman’s body, it is just phenomenal. I know not everyone can just go to London on a whim, but if you are going, I really can’t recommend going enough. The Carol Bove at the Guggenheim, I really loved as well, I thought was beautiful, and they have an area that’s a tactile archive and children can go and play and make sculptures and touch things.
I’m reading the new David Sedaris collection of essays. I’m really veering away from heavy material right now. I just handed in my own book, so I needed some comedy and just some lightness, and he is really delivering. I am watching Margot’s Got Money Troubles, which is an adaptation of the novel by Ruthie Thorpe, with Elle Fanning as the lead. It is so good, and wonderful on early motherhood—just hilarious, warm, and really, really incisive about the kind of Only Fans industry.
Pregnancy simple pleasures right now:
Sitting with my son and sharing a little one of those little crates of raspberries together from the farmer’s market. Just the pleasure of seeing him put the raspberries on his fingers, and then pluck them off. Oh my god, it is just the cutest thing in the entire world.
Once a week I go to my favorite foot massage place, an hour-long foot massage, while listening to just a meditation or a podcast, and it is the best hour in the entire world. Heaven, it’s just complete heaven on earth. It’s otherworldly.
Let’s talk. This is more group chat than newsletter, an ongoing text thread you won’t have to mute. Drop a comment, share your story, tell us what you want to see next.
Everybody is a mother.
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