Writing Podcast Episode 724: Emily Austin asks the question, ‘Is This a Cry for Help?’

Emily Austin is a bestselling queer Canadian author of five books across fiction and poetry, including the instant bestsellers, Is This a Cry for Help? (2026) and We Could Be Rats (2025). Her upcoming novel, Garbage Girl, is being published in winter of 2028.

Her debut novel, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, was published by Atria Books and Simon & Schuster Canada in 2021. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, longlisted for the 2022 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and shortlisted for the 2022 Ottawa Book Award.

Her second novel, Interesting Facts About Space was nominated for the 2025 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, long listed for The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, and named the #1 bestselling LGBTQIA+ book in Canada, and became the most circulated LGBTQIA+ book in Canadian libraries in 2024.​

Her debut poetry collection Gay Girl Prayers was released in 2024. It was a a CBC Best Book of Poetry in 2024, and a finalist for the 2025 Archibald Lampman Award.

Her writing often centres lesbian and queer characters and explores themes of mental health and neurodivergence.

She was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Religious Studies at King's University College, and her master's in 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 in the territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

She is represented by Heather Carr at The Friedrich Agency.