About Emily: 

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Emily Critchley’s debut young adult/crossover novel, Notes on My Family, published in 2017, was featured as The Sunday Times children’s book of the week, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, long-listed for the Branford Boase award and shortlisted for the Bristol Teen Book Award.

 

Emily holds a BA (Hons) First Class degree in Creative Writing from London Metropolitan University and an MA with distinction in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. She has studied under the mentorship of Russell Celyn Jones, Sunny Singh, Julia Bell and Toby Litt.

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Having completed two Creative Writing courses before beginning her BA, Emily has over eight years of experience workshopping and editing fiction in progress.

 

Emily is now writing her second book, a coming of age literary novel, The Tiny Gestures of Small Flowers. The novel spans fifteen years and includes themes of domestic abuse along with a dysfunctional mother daughter relationship. She is also working on a Middle Grade book about a twelve year-old boy who finds a polar bear in the freezer in his garage.
 

Emily is represented by Chloe Seager at Northbank Talent Management.

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Notes on my Family:

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Blurb: 

Lou is an observant outsider. She isn’t fitting in at home or at school. Her family life becomes increasingly hectic after her dad announces he’s having an affair and Lou learns her parents will soon be divorcing. Lou’s mum isn’t coping well. Her brother, Mikey, deals with the crisis by baking cakes; her older sister Sarah is dating a fireman. Lou is less than impressed when she is told by her form tutor that she must be a ‘buddy’ to the new girl, Faith, but the two girls form an unlikely, but meaningful, friendship amidst the chaos of their ordinary lives.

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Reviews: 

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‘Exceptional debut - reminiscent of Mark Haddon or Harper Lee’ - The Sunday Times

 

‘A warm, witty and moving look at one complicated family and the girl at the heart of it. Full of sincerity, intelligence and hope.’ - Anna James, journalist and author of Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers

 

‘Its combination of razor-sharp observation, dry humour and warm humanity is a rare one; the fact that this literary accomplishment is a debut makes it a rarer achievement still. Emily Critchley possesses a masterly style. There’s something in this novel for everyone.’ Oliver Harris, author of Deep Shelter.

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Read more about Emily's debut novel Notes on my Family here >>

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More resources: 
Website: EmilyCritchley.com
Twitter: @EmilyMCritchley 

The Riff Raff Podcast with Emily 

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What folk have to say about working with Emily...

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"Emily has been absolutely fantastic. She gave me excellent feedback on my strengths and weaknesses. Her report was really good and structured in a way that was clear and concise and allowed me to make the necessary changes to my manuscript. Plus the track changes document was great as well. Working with Emily has filled me with enthusiasm for my project and I feel I've made good progress because of her. Emily was great. She gave constructive and actionable feedback, was very encouraging and gave me lots of useful tips and advice. I really enjoyed working with her."

Diana Anyakwo

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