Acclaimed debut novelist Emily Everett spoke to me about finding a writing community, impostor syndrome, setting aside self-doubt, and her literary debut, ALL THAT LIFE CAN AFFORD.

Emily Everett is a writer and the managing editor of The Common, a literary magazine based at Amherst College.

Her debut novel All That Life Can Afford, is the Reese’s Book Club pick for April 2025 (out now from Putnam Books), was named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, and E! News, as well as an Apple Books Audiobook Staff Pick.

Described as “A taut and lyrical coming-of-age debut about a young American woman navigating class, lies, and love amid London’s jet-set elite.” New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy said of the book, “Emily Everett’s All That Life Can Afford is a wildly entertaining fish-out-of-water story meets Cinderella fairy tale.”

Emily Everett has an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London, where she lived and worked from 2009 to 2013. Her short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others.

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In this file Emily Everett and I discussed:

Teaching SAT classes for wealthy families abroad

Why you don’t have to wait to get started on your book

Her thirst to prove herself with the first novel

Time-blocking vs writing in the margins with a full-time job

On crappy first drafts

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

emily-everett.com

The Common literary magazine

All That Life Can Afford: Reese's Book Club by Emily Everett (Amazon)

Emily Everett on Instagram

Kelton Reid on Twitter

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