The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire 171: Emma Gannon
"This is the first book I’m releasing outside of traditional publishing, where I’m in total creative control of all aspects of the book. So far, it’s been thrilling."
Since 2010, in various publications, I’ve interviewed authors—mostly memoirists—about aspects of writing and publishing. Initially I did this for my own edification, as someone who was struggling to find the courage and support to write and publish my memoir. I’m still curious about other authors’ experiences, and I know many of you are, too. So, inspired by the popularity of The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire, I’ve launched The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire.
Here’s the 171st installment, featuring Emma Gannon, writer of the newsletter The Hyphen by Emma Gannon, and bestelling author of nine books, who just published A Year of Nothing: A Memoir. - Sari Botton
P.S. Check out all the interviews in The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire series.
Emma Gannon is the Sunday Times bestselling author of 8 books and writes one of the most popular Substack newsletters, The Hyphen, which was one of the first to gain thousands of paid subscribers in the UK. She hosts creativity retreats around the world and was a judge for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction in 2025. Her reflective memoir A garnered attention from BBC Woman’s Hour, The Guardian, ELLE, and international media. It is set to be re-released in 2026 with Whitefox Publishing.
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How old are you, and for how long have you been writing?
I am 36. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen. I wrote diaries all through my early teenage years, and I started a blog when I was 19 in my bedroom. Professionally speaking I think my first article was published in a mainstream magazine when I was 21 (a UK women’s magazine called Stylist). I got my first book deal with Penguin when I was 26 (because of my blog). I basically wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw but identified more with Hannah Horvath from Girls HBO.
Reading that back, it amazes me how naturally instinctual writing was for me from a very young age. I didn’t have any idea of “the industry” and I didn’t know any writers. I just always wanted to write (and share it.)
What’s the title of your latest book, and when was it published?
My latest book is called A Year of Nothing. It was published with a small indie press, The Pound Project, last year (where you could buy it for a limited time from their website only). I’m bringing it out again to a wider audience with a new cover, new author intro, with hybrid publisher Whitefox Publishing. (Instead of getting an advance, I paid them to project manage the publication process for me, and I get to keep all the IP and revenue.) It’s the first book I’m releasing outside of traditional publishing, where I’m in total creative control of all aspects of the book. So far, it’s been thrilling.
A Year of Nothing follows my quiet rebellion against the cult of doing. Over four seasons, I step away from the noise and rediscover joy in life’s simplest pleasures, from dog borrowing and dopamine dressing to relearning how to swim and embracing a child-free life. It is a gentle, hopeful guide to what happens when you stop trying to fix everything and choose to feel instead.
What number book is this for you?
This book is number 8. I’ve just finished editing book number 9. I’m always working on something new. I can’t decide whether it’s a gift or a curse. Maybe both?
How do you categorize your book—as a memoir, memoir-in-essays, essay collection, creative nonfiction, graphic memoir, autofiction—and why?
It’s a memoir. A pretty short one—126 pages. A “slim volume” some might say.
What is the “elevator pitch” for your book?
After years of writing about work, wellbeing and productivity, I hit a wall: chronic burnout left me unable to get out of bed. Oh, the irony!
A Year of Nothing follows my quiet rebellion against the cult of doing. Over four seasons, I step away from the noise and rediscover joy in life’s simplest pleasures, from dog borrowing and dopamine dressing to relearning how to swim and embracing a child-free life. It is a gentle, hopeful guide to what happens when you stop trying to fix everything and choose to feel instead.
What’s the back story of this book including your origin story as a writer? How did you become a writer, and how did this book come to be?
I worked in PR and advertising agencies in my early twenties and I pitched an online column to Emma Barnett at The Telegraph and she miraculously said yes! So I had this 9-to-5 PR job but also a column at a prestigious newspaper. I also wrote for The Huffington Post in my lunchbreak! Over time, I made the jump into the magazine world. (I think my colleagues at the agency found it a bit strange that I was juggling so much freelance work outside of my day job.) I started working at a women’s magazine called The Debrief (part of Grazia), and then Glamour Magazine at Condé Nast. Then I got various columns including The Sunday Times. Working inside legacy media was fun, but it never felt like enough. I always leant more heavily into writing for myself online on my own platforms—which is why Substack is currently the dream place for me to keep doing that.
Even though I’ve spent my whole life writing, and published countless books, at first I found it SUPER HARD calling myself “A Writer™️”. I think a lot of people have this issue. The word feels so lofty and grand! Like unless you’re wearing a roll-neck and having coffee with Zadie Smith or Salman Rushdie you surely can’t dare call yourself one! Which is bollocks, really. I think it’s also because I’ve always done lots of different things (I wrote a book about being a multi-hyphenate in my twenties) because I enjoy trying out different creative mediums: podcasting, writing, speaking, broadcasting.
But writing is my first (and true) love. A Year of Nothing is about my burnout year, the year I couldn’t do anything but recover from a nervous breakdown. I thought my writing career would be over. I broke up with my publisher, and I did not think I would have anything to write about ever again. The fact that I not only wrote something I’m proud of during one of my most difficult years of my life, but that I also decided to publish it myself, made me realise that I am most definitely a writer.
Being a writer is about looking at the reality of your life and writing anyway. If you run, you are a runner. If you write, you are a writer. Not talking about it, actually doing it.
What were the hardest aspects of writing this book and getting it published?
I used the private journal entries I kept during my burnout year and so the hardest part was probably re-reading all of the raw material which felt so helpless and sad at the time. I selected carefully what would go in and what could be left out. I wanted to craft the book into something hopeful, using the four seasons and months of the year to signpost a chronological story.
The hardest part of getting it published was probably the risk-taking element. I have invested around £10,000 into publishing the book myself and I decided to do a lot of the promotion and legwork myself. I decided to invest in myself for this book. As it’s so personal, I wanted to be in total control. I hope it pays off.
The book is about my burnout year, the year I couldn’t do anything but recover from a nervous breakdown. I thought my writing career would be over. I broke up with my publisher, and I did not think I would have anything to write about ever again. The fact that I not only wrote something I’m proud of during one of my most difficult years of my life, but that I also decided to publish it myself, made me realise that I am most definitely a writer.
How did you handle writing about real people in your life? Did you use real or changed names and identifying details? Did you run passages or the whole book by people who appear in the narrative? Did you make changes they requested?
The good thing about having the original limited edition version come out first meant that I could gauge people’s reactions before the more mass market version of the book comes out. It was sort of the beta version. I checked certain passages with family members and got their blessing to tell certain anecdotes.
My family are very understanding and know that as a writer I always centre myself in the story, not them. I know the difference between telling my story, and telling someone else’s—and I would never include anything that puts them in a compromising position. My memoir is through my perspective only. For a few people I decided to use their first initial instead of their full names, because they are very private people and it enabled me to be freer with the storytelling.
Who is another writer you took inspiration from in producing this book? Was it a specific book, or their whole body of work? (Can be more than one writer or book.)
I really loved the soft and striking nature of Katherine May’s books Wintering and Enchantment. I love the Daunt Books jackets for In The Kitchen and In The Garden when it came to having an illustrated cover. There is also a book that came out after mine, but inspired me all over again: Rough Patch: How a Year in the Garden Brought Me Back to Life by Kathy Slack. I enjoy books that tell a story about a particular year. I definitely wish for A Year of Nothing to sit next to these beautiful books on a bookshelf somewhere.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to publish a book like yours, who are maybe afraid, or intimidated by the process?
I think a lot of people find it annoying that writers are expected to “have a platform” in order to publish a book—but I actually think we’re in a time when trying things out online before moving into print can be really helpful and not a bad thing at all. I’d say: have fun experimenting. Start a newsletter, a blog—somewhere you can write for fun, for yourself, for readers. You begin to see what people respond to. You improve as a writer by putting work out there freely and often. You can still save your juiciest, best material for your book, but writing online is worthwhile too—it helps you grow a thicker skin and feel less precious about testing new ideas.
What do you love about writing?
I love that it calms me down and centres me. It helps me understand what I’m thinking and organise my thoughts. It helps me connect to myself. Writing does not drain me, it gives me energy.
What frustrates you about writing?
That before every single book, I feel like a total beginner again, even though I feel like by now I should “know what I’m doing.” It’s humbling and, in a way, comforting to always feel like I’m back to square one. “You’re only as good as your last book” is probably a bit too harsh, but sometimes it feels that way.
What about writing surprises you?
That a book takes on a new life of its own without you. A book can travel the world, keep someone company on their nightstand, help someone through a tricky time, and most of the time you’ll never even know about it.
Writing also brings me interesting opportunities that I could never have imagined. Invitations to meet people, book festivals in new locations, meeting new people, visiting new cities, having new conversations. It expands and broadens my life in so many ways. It’s the closest we have to magic—conjuring something from nothing.
The hardest part of getting it published was probably the risk-taking element. I have invested around £10,000 into publishing the book myself and I decided to do a lot of the promotion and legwork myself. I decided to invest in myself for this book. As it’s so personal, I wanted to be in total control. I hope it pays off.
Does your writing practice involve any kind of routine, or writing at specific times?
I don’t have a routine. I am quite intuitive and go with what my energy levels are telling me. I try to write every day, even just a bit. I go with what feels most joyful and easy. I might take myself to a café for the afternoon, write in bed if it’s a cold winter’s day, write in the garden if it’s sunny, or book in a writing stint at a hotel one weekend. I think writing is best done when feeling cosy and comfortable. I am known to wear different Christmas pyjamas at home all year round.
Do you engage in any other creative pursuits, professionally or for fun? Are there non-writing activities you consider to be “writing” or supportive of your process?
I went on a drawing retreat last year and learnt a few techniques that help me dabble with water colours, sketching and painting for fun. It helps calm my mind. I journal a lot with a fountain pen, and go through phases of doing Morning Pages. I also enjoy using stickers in my journal to help express how I’m feeling.
What’s next for you? Do you have another book planned, or in the works?
I do. I’ve just written a new non-fiction book all about creativity and my creative process, called A Creative Compass, which comes out in the Summer. I’m also attempting to write a third novel, slowly.