Emily Henry author photo

Emily Henry

Born: May 17, 1991 – Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Emily Henry is an American novelist known for contemporary romance and earlier young adult fiction, often blending humor, grief, and self-discovery. Her notable books include Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, Book Lovers, and Happy Place. A bestselling author, she won the Goodreads Choice Award for Romance for People We Meet on Vacation.

Biography & Author's Journey

Emily Henry’s fiction is rooted in a distinctly American geography and in an early sense of movement between places. She spent her first five years in southern California, then lived in Kentucky and Ohio before attending Hope College in Michigan, where she studied creative writing after first choosing the school for its dance program. A novel-writing class there became a decisive turning point: it taught her to finish drafts, not simply begin them. After graduation, she returned to the Cincinnati area, worked in technical writing, and pursued publication through research, cold emails, and persistence rather than literary connections. ((https://calendar.hope.edu/event/visiting_writers_series_q_and_a_with_emily_henry))

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Quotes

quote
I find it really hard to write a compelling love story where you don’t pick at the emotional scabs of the hero and heroine
-The Guardian interview
quote
To write a story that I enjoy writing and reading, there has to be conflict
-Vogue interview
quote
It’s saying no to a great interview or a great event with an author I love
-Zibby transcript
quote
The people who love you will walk with you through slow progress toward I can
-YA Open Mic
quote
I’m not usually a very go-with-the-flow person. I like order. I like expectations
-Hello Girls conversation
quote
On vacation, you can be anyone you want
-People We Meet on Vacation
quote
It was just a story I’d been telling myself. From now on, it was the ugly truth or nothing
-Beach Read
quote
I couldn’t have imagined being any happier, loving anywhere else as much
-Happy Place
quote
He can’t be as bad as he seems. And even if he is, it’s not like we’ll be spending time together
-Great Big Beautiful Life

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Community Voices

"Emily Henry might be our generation's answer to Nora Ephron"

Sophie Cousens

"Emily Henry is pure delight"

Katherine Center

"I would follow Emily Henry anywhere"

Emma Straub

"Emily Henry has become one of my favourite authors"

Beth O'Leary

"Emily Henry never fails to deliver great banter and a romance to swoon over"

Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Emily Henry writes about love, all types of love, in the most authentic, human way"

Ali Hazelwood

"Nobody does it quite like Emily Henry"

Casey McQuiston

"Emily Henry's books are a gift, the perfect balance between steamy and sweet"

V. E. Schwab

"Emily Henry is my newest automatic-buy author"

Jodi Picoult

"Emily Henry is one of the most exciting romance writers out there"

Laura Jane Williams

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