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.{{Cite news |last=The Canadian Press |date=2022-05-10 |title=Retired bricklayer among six debut novelists vying for $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-retired-bricklayer-among-six-debut-novelists-vying-for-60000-prize/ |access-date=2023-01-31}}

Born and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario, she studied English literature, religious studies and library and information science at the University of Western Ontario.[https://open-book.ca/News/Emily-Austin-Uses-Her-Trademark-Sass-to-Rewrite-Bible-Verses-for-the-LGBTQIA-Community "Emily Austin Uses Her Trademark Sass to Rewrite Bible Verses for the LGBTQIA+ Community"]. Open Book, February 28, 2024.

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, her debut novel, was published in 2021.Mel Woods, [https://xtramagazine.com/health/emily-austin-interview-novel-204416 "Death is around every corner in this queer author’s grimly funny debut novel"]. Xtra Magazine, July 7, 2021. In addition to the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the book was also longlisted for the 2022 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour,Cassandra Drudi, [https://quillandquire.com/omni/longlist-announced-for-2022-stephen-leacock-medal/ "Longlist announced for 2022 Stephen Leacock medal"]. Quill & Quire, June 1, 2022. and shortlisted for the 2022 Ottawa Book Award for English fiction.Megan Gillis, [https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/finalists-revealed-for-ottawa-book-awards "Finalists revealed for Ottawa Book Awards"]. Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 2022.

In 2024 she published her second novel, Interesting Facts About Space,[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/emily-austin-s-latest-novel-interesting-facts-about-space-explores-reckoning-with-fear-and-letting-people-in-1.7177498 "Emily Austin's latest novel Interesting Facts About Space explores reckoning with fear and letting people in"]. The Next Chapter, April 19, 2024. and the poetry collection Gay Girl Prayers.[https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/why-emily-austin-rewrote-parts-of-the-bible-through-a-queer-and-feminist-lens-1.7130739 "Why Emily Austin rewrote parts of the Bible through a queer and feminist lens"]. Q, March 1, 2024. She released her third novel, We Could be Rats,{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/emily-austin/we-could-be-rats/ |title=WE COULD BE RATS {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}} in January 2025.

She identifies as queer.