Emily Austin (she/her) is the bestselling author of four novels, all published by Atria Books and Simon & Schuster Canada, including her most recent, "We Could Be Rats" (2025), which was an instant national best seller. Her next novel, "Is This a Cry for Help?", comes out in January 2026.

Emily’s debut novel, "Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead" (2021), was long listed for The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award, and a finalist for the Ottawa Book Awards. Her second novel, "Interesting Facts About Space" (2023), has been nominated for the 2025 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, and was long listed for The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. It was also the #1 bestselling LGBTQIA+ book in Canada and the most circulated LGBTQIA+ book in Canadian libraries in 2024. Her poetry debut, "Gay Girl Prayers", was published by Brick Books in 2024, and was a CBC Best Book of Poetry in 2024.

Her writing often centres lesbian characters and explores themes of mental health, religious trauma, neurodivergence, and queerness.

She was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. She studied English Literature and Religious Studies at King's University College, and Library and Information Science at Western University. She has a background in libraries, teaching, and working as an information architect. She currently resides in Ottawa / the territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. 

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She is represented by Heather Carr at The Friedrich Agency. 
 

Connect with Emily on Social Media: 

Instagram/Threads: @EmilyRAustinAuthor, TikTok: @EmilyAustinAuthor, BlueSky: @EmilyRAustin.bsky.social, & FaceBook: EmilyAustinAuthor
 

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