Emily J. Smith
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emjsmith.bsky.social
Emily J. Smith
@emjsmith.bsky.social
170 followers 350 following 25 posts
Author of NOTHING SERIOUS, out Feb 2025 from HarperCollins / William Morrow. Previously founder of Chorus (dating app). Tech person turned writer. More at emjsmith.com.
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emjsmith.bsky.social
Emily J. Smith @emjsmith.bsky.social · Nov 14
My debut, NOTHING SERIOUS, is out Feb 18! It explores online dating, obsession, childlessness, and more thru the lens of a 35 yr old woman in tech. It's a literary thriller of sorts, but the heart is a coming-of-age story about untangling from internalized misogyny. Pls consider checking it out!
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
janajm.com
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @emjsmith.bsky.social.

We discuss her debut novel, her background in tech, how she navigated the transition to writing full-time, what she’s working on next, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/emily-j-smith
A screenshot of text that reads: Pushing against the pull: In conversation with Emily J. Smith "Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I'm grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing. “It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped.” I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing. A screenshot of text that reads: With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding. The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.” She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
jonathanwlodarski.bsky.social
This book was a banger. I ate it up in one go!
emjsmith.bsky.social Emily J. Smith @emjsmith.bsky.social · Nov 14
My debut, NOTHING SERIOUS, is out Feb 18! It explores online dating, obsession, childlessness, and more thru the lens of a 35 yr old woman in tech. It's a literary thriller of sorts, but the heart is a coming-of-age story about untangling from internalized misogyny. Pls consider checking it out!
August 13, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
nikkisummer.bsky.social
So much fun to do this Q&A with @emjsmith.bsky.social about her new book, NOTHING SERIOUS! Women in tech, career ambitions, feminism, dating, relationships -- we hit it all! nikkisummer.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
Q&A with Emily Smith, author of the new book Nothing Serious
We talk career ambitions, dating, female friendships, women in tech, male approval, and more
nikkisummer.substack.com
March 28, 2025 at 3:09 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
I wrote about my decade-long journey to publish a novel and what helped me keep pushing through the grueling process. open.substack.com/pub/emjsmith...
Behind the Shiny Publication Post
It took over a decade to get my book on the shelves—some thoughts on the process and how to keep going.
open.substack.com
March 18, 2025 at 6:50 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Just a cloudy Saturday, walking around Brooklyn, popping into local bookstores and.... SEEING MY DEBUT NOVEL ON DISPLAY!!!!
March 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
The past few weeks since NOTHING SERIOUS came out has been a whirlwind but I have been LIVING for messages like these from readers💕💕
March 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
therumpus.net
"I was very interested in exploring this tension between caring for a man and also wanting to see him face consequences for his privileges."

@emjsmith.bsky.social discusses the publication of Nothing Serious (@wmmorrowbooks.bsky.social) for the The First Book.

➡️ buff.ly/UZDHbZ2
The Book cover for Nothing Serious with Emily J. Smith's author photo in a red-lined circle. To the left in a white rectangle is a charcoal pen nib and the full black Rumpus logo with the words "The First Book: Emily J. Smith.
March 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
novelsalive.com
4.5-STAR REVIEW⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫: NOTHING SERIOUS by Emily J. Smith @emjsmith.bsky.social @wmmorrowbooks.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social

👉NOTHING SERIOUS pairs obsession with online dating for an explosive story that threatens to break the bonds of friendship. https://buff.ly/3X7PQkp #bookreview
February 26, 2025 at 2:21 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
My debut novel is out in the world!! I stopped by my local bookstore, which I lived above 11 years ago when I first moved to NY, the year I decided (at 32) to try writing. The amount of rejection btwn then and now is unfathomable, but now I have a book on their shelves and I’m so very proud of it ❤️
February 26, 2025 at 1:38 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
This was such a great interview about the process of getting an agent and publishing a book, what inspired NOTHING SERIOUS, and surprises in the writing process along the way.

Thank you so much @writersdigest.bsky.social for the feature! www.writersdigest.com/write-better...
Emily J. Smith: I Allowed the Writing To Be Terrible
In this interview, author Emily J. Smith discusses wanting to write a coming-of-age story for women in their 30s with her debut novel, Nothing Serious.
www.writersdigest.com
February 22, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
booksonthepark.bsky.social
Love this review of @emjsmith.bsky.social's debut! Join us for the launch on 2/27 here at Books on the Park (details in the thread)
datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/emily-...
Review: Emily J. Smith’s ‘Nothing Serious’ is a dark, wry takedown of online dating
Smith’s debut novel explores many themes — relationships, a stagnating career and a murder.
datebook.sfchronicle.com
February 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Loved creating this list for @electriclit.bsky.social of my favorite kinds of stories!
February 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
This is one of the most personal essays I’ve written, thank you so much @literaryhub.bsky.social for publishing!
February 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
So happy to see NOTHING SERIOUS on this list of upcoming debuts! Thank you @crimereads.bsky.social!!

"Nothing Serious is brutal, complex, and necessary, and joins the growing number of novels in which Silicon Valley is not an object of admiration, but of disgust."

crimereads.com/the-best-deb...
The Best Debut Novels of the Month: February 2025
The CrimeReads editors select the month’s best debut crime novels, mysteries, and thrillers. Neena Viel, Listen to Your Sister (St. Martin’s Griffin) Neena Viel’s well-titled debut takes us i…
crimereads.com
February 13, 2025 at 3:26 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
So excited for this event with Rough Draft! If you’re in or around Kingston, I’d love to see you!!
drewsof.bsky.social Drew Broussard @drewsof.bsky.social · Feb 8
Hey upstaters! Rough Draft is launching a monthly reading series on March 11th—we're calling it Night School, hosted as we are in the old Kingston Academy building. First one features @christinajcooke.bsky.social, @rebelsam94.bsky.social, @cynthiaweiner.bsky.social, & @emjsmith.bsky.social!
The graphic for the March installment of NIGHT SCHOOL: A ROUGH DRAFT READING SERIES. In the front door of the bookstore (which is an old wooden door with a four-pane window, in a stone doorway), the four panes of the window feature the faces of (clockwise from top left) Christina Cooke, Cynthia Weiner, Sam Rebelein, and Emily J. Smith Four shelf-talkers inspired by a 1920s report card I found on the internet. There are four, one for each reader, but the format is as follows: SEMESTER PERIOD NIGHT SCHOOL REPORT CARD of [author name] APPEARING AT ROUGH DRAFT March 11th @ 6pm PARENTS ARE REQUESTION TO READ THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THIS REPORT CARD VERY CAREFULLY, SIGN, AND RETURN PROMPTLY TO [signature] PRINCIPAL
February 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Emily J. Smith
triketora.com
finished reading @emjsmith.bsky.social’s debut novel! the cover makes it look like a romance novel but it’s not. it hits uncomfortably close to home if you’re a tech worker, the way that you sometimes poke a sore spot to feel the satisfying twinge of pain. if you’re a fiction reader, check it out
January 25, 2025 at 1:12 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Over here crying my eyes out after just receiving the box of final hardcovers. Thinking about how ten years ago I had an insane dream of writing a book, telling a very specific story of self-discovery about a single, childless 30-something woman in tech. Feels WILD to now hold it in my hands 🥹❤️📖
January 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
So honored to be on this list from @crimereads.bsky.social and LOVE their review, which nails so much of what the book is about.

Also, not my name next to Megan Abbott?? 🫠💕
crimereads.com/the-most-ant...
January 15, 2025 at 3:33 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Baby's first "most anticipated" list!! And from one of my all-time favorite publications, @literaryhub.bsky.social, so honored! lithub.com/lit-hubs-mos...
January 8, 2025 at 1:39 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Djuna Barnes, from her short story "Indian Summer."
December 4, 2024 at 12:45 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
My first Publishers Weekly review!!! 2.5 months from pub date and it's starting to feel real 😊 💕 If you need me, I'll be rereading this all day 🥹 www.publishersweekly.com/9780063385832
December 2, 2024 at 4:35 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
Sometimes you're at a coffee shop staring blankly at your essay-in-progress, hating yourself for what feels like a constant lack of focus, but then Fiona Apple's I Know comes on the speaker and nothing else matters.
December 2, 2024 at 1:47 PM
emjsmith.bsky.social
The way Bojack captured MeToo really was outstanding. Such a great show.
emilynussbaum.bsky.social Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum.bsky.social · Dec 2
I’ve been re-watching Bojack Horseman with my kid and we’re in S6 and Jesus, this show holds up beautifully… and is also a fascinating portrait of the MeToo movement as it was happening
December 2, 2024 at 12:41 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
I have five book events scheduled for my February release so far (NY, SF, Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland)! 😮 Please tell me that counts as "tour"? I've been dreaming of referencing "my book tour" for YEARS.
November 28, 2024 at 12:29 AM
emjsmith.bsky.social
GREAT Q! IMO it speaks to a core diff btwn science (driven by curiosity of the larger world) and engineering (driven by problem-solving/making). They relate and use similar skills, but attract VERY diff personalities. Successful engineers, espesh coders, can get very righteous and expect control.
mollyjongfast.bsky.social Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · Nov 25
One of the things I still don’t understand is how these tech bros can be pro-technology and anti science.
November 25, 2024 at 1:58 PM