Gladstone’s Library’s August Writer in Residence shares the peaks and pitfalls of writing real life

At the age of 22 and halfway through university, Emily Morris found out she was pregnant and was told by the baby’s father to enjoy her ‘impending shitty, snotty, vomitty twenties’.

This statement would eventually become the fuel behind Emily’s award-winning blog and her debut book, My Shitty Twenties, in which she documented her life as a single mother.

The book was voted one of Guardian reader’s favourites of 2017 and highly praised for its accurate depiction of single motherhood.

On Tuesday, 13th August at 8pm Emily will be at Gladstone’s Library discussing how writing the true story of her experiences of becoming a single parent helped free her from her feelings of failure and isolation.

The event is part of Gladstone’s Library’s Writer in Residence series, during which four winners of the residency lead writing events and practical masterclasses open to the general public.

‘Writing: Finding Success through Failure’ promises to be an insightful evening and will include a reading from My Shitty Twenties as well as conversations on the peaks and pitfalls of writing real life.

As said by the founder of Gladstone’s Library, a certain William Gladstone himself, ‘Failure is a success if we learn from it’.

Emily has a MA in Writing Studies from Edge Hill University.

Before graduating in 2009, she won an Arvon 41 Grant and won two Manchester Blog Awards in the same year.

She has written for numerous publications, including Creative Tourist, the Guardian, Manchester Literature Festival and Refinery29, among others. 

My Shitty Twenties is her first book and is based on her award-winning blog of the same name.

Emily teaches writing workshops to both adults and teenagers. She lives in Manchester with her son.

The evening will include the opportunity to ask questions.

Tickets for the evening are priced at £15 or £25.95 with dinner (a copy of My Shitty Twenties included).