Emma Jane Unsworth

Emma Jane Unsworth
Author Emma Jane Unsworth (sat in middle) with members of the Curious Tales collective, Beth Ward, Tom Fletcher, Jenn Ashworth and Richard Hirst in 2013.
Born	Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation	Short story writer, novelist
Language	English
Nationality	British
Notable works	Hungry, The Stars and Everything Animals
Website
emmajaneunsworth.com

Emma Jane Unsworth (born 1978) is a British writer from Bury, Greater Manchester. She writes short stories and has had two novels published; Hungry, The Stars and Everything and Animals.

Unsworth grew up in Prestwich and attended Bowker Vale Infant School and Crumpsall Lane Junior School before becoming a pupil at Bury Grammar School for girls. It was at Bury Grammar that she met writer Sherry Ashworth, then a teacher, who became a mentor and friend and who later published Unsworth's first novel under her Hidden Gem Press imprint. Unsworth studied English Literature at Liverpool University and graduated with an MA from Manchester University's Centre for New Writing.

Unsworth's short fiction has been published in various places including by Comma Press, and her story I Arrive First was included in The Best British Short Stories 2012, published by Salt.

She has also worked as a journalist and is a former columnist for The Big Issue in the North.

Her debut novel Hungry, the Stars and Everything, was published in June 2011 by Hidden Gem Press and won a Betty Trask Award from the Society of Authors. The novel was also shortlisted for the Portico Prize for Fiction 2012.

Set in a restaurant called Bethel, the novel follows the life of restaurant critic Helen as she eats her way through a tasting menu, evoking memories. Unsworth used the name Bethel for her setting after her friend, the chef Mary-Ellen McTague, had considered but rejected using it for her new restaurant Aumbry which she opened in Prestwich. The following year Unsworth and McTague worked together to create a real life version of the meal featured in the book as part of Prestwich Book Festival. The event was held at Aumbry with diners able to eat some of the dishes that appeared in the novel whilst Unsworth read extracts of her book at intervals throughout the meal.

In May 2014 Unsworth's second novel Animals was published by Canongate. The book followed the hedonistic adventures of two young women, best friends Laura and Tyler, as they lived their lives in a fog of alcohol and drugs. The book received positive reviews with writer Caitlin Moran describing it as "Withnail for Girls" and declaring that she wished she had written it. The book was later optioned by BAFTA-nominated producer Sarah Brocklehurst and awarded BFI funding with Unsworth tasked with writing the screenplay.