Emily Henry is an American author and novelist known for contemporary romance and young adult fiction. Her best-known romance novels include Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, Book Lovers, Happy Place, Funny Story, and Great Big Beautiful Life, all of which became New York Times bestsellers.
Biography
Emily Henry was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent her childhood between Kentucky and Ohio. She attended Lakota East High School before studying at Hope College on a creative writing scholarship, initially planning to study dance. She also completed a writing residency at the New York Center for Art and Media Studies.
After college, Henry returned to the Cincinnati area and worked as a technical writer, full-time writer, and proofreader. Before establishing herself as a novelist, she also held jobs including dog walker, babysitter, Taco Bell employee, YMCA worker, college tutoring-center employee, and carwash worker.
Writing career
Henry's debut young adult novel, The Love That Split the World, was published in January 2016. She followed it with A Million Junes, When the Sky Fell on Splendor, and Hello Girls, which she co-wrote with Brittany Cavallaro. Henry wrote three young adult novels before moving into adult romance.
Her first adult romance novel, Beach Read, was published in 2020 after Henry initially wrote it for fun and set the manuscript aside. She then published People We Meet on Vacation in 2021, Book Lovers in 2022, Happy Place in 2023, Funny Story in 2024, and Great Big Beautiful Life in 2025.
Henry's romance novels often combine romantic comedy elements with emotional conflict and themes involving love, family, career, and respect. She has described her fictional settings as vacation-like spaces that create a feeling of escape and possibility, while drawing inspiration from conversations, people, places, television, movies, and observations of real life rather than directly adapting her own experiences.
In Happy Place, Henry used fake dating as a central trope and focused on a couple who had already broken up. The novel follows Harriet and Wyn as they attempt to convince their friends during an annual trip to Knotts Harbor, Maine, that they are still together.
Bibliography
Henry's young adult bibliography begins with The Love That Split the World (2016), followed by A Million Junes (2017), When the Sky Fell on Splendor (2019), and Hello Girls (2019), written with Brittany Cavallaro.
Her adult fiction bibliography includes Beach Read (2020), People We Meet on Vacation (2021), Book Lovers (2022), Happy Place (2023), Funny Story (2024), and Great Big Beautiful Life (2025).
On-screen adaptations
The first five of Henry's adult romance novels were optioned for on-screen adaptations. People We Meet on Vacation was adapted by Sony's 3000 Pictures from a screenplay by Yulin Kuang, with Brett Haley directing and Temple Hill producing. Tom Blyth and Emily Bader played Alex and Poppy, and the film was released on January 9, 2026.
Yulin Kuang was also attached to write and direct the adaptation of Beach Read for 20th Century. Tango announced a film adaptation of Book Lovers with Sarah Heyward attached to write the screenplay, while Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions developed Happy Place for Netflix.
Henry planned to write the film adaptation of Funny Story herself. Her involvement in the adaptations has extended her work beyond novel writing and into screenwriting.
Awards
Henry won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance for People We Meet on Vacation in 2021, Book Lovers in 2022, and Happy Place in 2023. People We Meet on Vacation was also selected for the New York Public Library's Best Books for Adults list in 2021.
In 2024, Henry won Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance and Best Audiobook for Funny Story. The novel also received the 2025 Libby Book Award for Romance. Great Big Beautiful Life won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance in 2025.
Quick facts
- Henry wrote Beach Read entirely for fun and set the completed manuscript aside for several years before deciding to pursue publication.
- Before becoming a novelist, Henry wrote in the early mornings before work and continued writing on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Henry described her move into romance as an unexpected transition after writing three young adult novels.
- The central couple in Happy Place had already broken up before the novel's fake-dating premise began.
- Henry used a cork board and different-colored string to track the elaborate timeline and six-character friend group in Happy Place.
- Henry's fictional vacation settings include North Bear Shores on Lake Michigan and Sunshine Falls in North Carolina.
- Henry decided to retain a vacation-like atmosphere in her romance novels because she enjoys the combination of escapism and emotional tension associated with being on vacation.
- The film adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation stars Tom Blyth and Emily Bader as Alex and Poppy.
- Henry planned to write the film adaptation of Funny Story herself.
- Henry won Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance for four consecutive listed releases, from People We Meet on Vacation through Funny Story, and again for Great Big Beautiful Life.
FAQs about Emily Henry
Is Emily Henry married in real life?
Yes. Henry has referred to her husband when discussing the inspiration for a character in one of her romance novels.
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