Emily Bitto lives in Melbourne. She has a Masters in Literary Studies and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne. Emily has been teaching for over a decade, and has taught creative writing at The University of Melbourne, RMIT, Victoria University and the Faber Writing Academy. Her writing has appeared in various publications, including Meanjin, Island, HEAT, the Monthly, the Age, the Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Big Issue fiction edition. The manuscript of her debut novel, The Strays was shortlisted for the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and the published novel went on to win the 2015 Stella Prize. It was also shortlisted for The Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction, the NSW Premier’s Prize for New Writing, and the Dobbie Literary Award, and longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize. The Strays was published in the US (Twelve Books) and Canada (Penguin) in January 2017. Emily’s second novel, Wild Abandon, was published by Allen and Unwin in October 2021.
Emily is an obsessive reader, music fan, cook and dog-carer (having fostered 11 rescue dogs in one year). She also co-owns and runs Carlton wine-bar, Heartattack and Vine.
“The Strays is like a gemstone: polished and multi-faceted, reflecting illuminations back to the reader and holding rich colour in its depths.”
“With a skilful use of perspective and memory, and a dual adult–child point of view, Bitto reaches far beyond the well-documented narratives and myths of the Heide players to widen and enrich the notion of the artist as mad or bad or eccentric.”