Emily Austin (writer)

Emily Austin is a Canadian writer based in Ottawa, Ontario, whose debut novel Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead was a shortlisted finalist for the 2022 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. ^[1]

Born and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario, she studied English literature, religious studies and library and information science at the University of Western Ontario. ^[2]

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, her debut novel, was published in 2021. ^[3] In addition to the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the book was also longlisted for the 2022 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, ^[4] and shortlisted for the 2022 Ottawa Book Award for English fiction. ^[5]

In 2024 she published her second novel, Interesting Facts About Space, ^[6] and the poetry collection Gay Girl Prayers. ^[7] She released her third novel, We Could be Rats, ^[8] in January 2025.

She identifies as queer. ^[3]

References

1. The Canadian Press (2022-05-10). "Retired bricklayer among six debut novelists vying for $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2023-01-31.
2. "Emily Austin Uses Her Trademark Sass to Rewrite Bible Verses for the LGBTQIA+ Community". Open Book, February 28, 2024.
3. Mel Woods, "Death is around every corner in this queer author’s grimly funny debut novel". Xtra Magazine , July 7, 2021.
4. Cassandra Drudi, "Longlist announced for 2022 Stephen Leacock medal". Quill & Quire , June 1, 2022.
5. Megan Gillis, "Finalists revealed for Ottawa Book Awards". Ottawa Citizen , September 20, 2022.
6. "Emily Austin's latest novel Interesting Facts About Space explores reckoning with fear and letting people in". The Next Chapter , April 19, 2024.
7. "Why Emily Austin rewrote parts of the Bible through a queer and feminist lens". Q , March 1, 2024.
8. WE COULD BE RATS | Kirkus Reviews.