Originally from Tasmania, Emily Spurr lives in Melbourne with her partner, their twins and the ghost of a deaf, geriatric cat. Emily's first novel A Million Things was shortlisted for the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Prize, voted BookBrowse Best Debut Novel of 2021, longlisted for the 2022 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award and Highly Commended for the 2022 Barbara Jefferis Award. Beatrix and Fred is Emily’s second novel.
‘A luminous, wise and blackly funny triumph. I adored it.’ * Toni Jordan * ‘Rippling, joyous, irresistible prose…Intensely readable.’ * The Blurb (PULSE 94.7) * 'This book is wild, it is wonderful, it is thought provoking. It is full of surprises…An absolute joy.’ * 2SER: Final Draft * ‘It is not hard to see why A Million Things was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award Unpublished Manuscript Prize last year. Spurr is a subtle writer, and though she writes genuinely dramatic incidents, the story is not overblown, and actions and reactions are written with a light touch…Spurr does a deft job of showing that people can surprise in good ways as well as bad.’ * Weekend Australian on A Million Things * ‘A remarkable book: beautifully written, tender, loving, humorous; heart-breaking, but all those other things as well—which is what we all love to read in the best of fiction.’ * RN Bookshelf on A Million Things * ‘In this excellent debut…Spurr delicately illustrates the complexity of loss and isolation. Fans of Liane Moriarty should take a look.’ * Publishers Weekly on A Million Things *