Emily Wilson

England, United Kingdom

Author of The Sumerians Trilogy. Inanna and Gilgamesh out now; Ninshubar out August 2025. Previously editor of New Scientist. Rep'd by Greyhound Literary agency

Featured in: Favicon

newscientist.com Favicon

bbc.co.uk

theguardian.com Favicon

nytimes.com Favicon

time.com

newyorker.com Favicon

bustle.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+1) Favicon

flipboard.com Favicon

kqed.org + 53 more

Articles

The Ministry of Time review: Fabulous time travel novel is part-thriller, part-romance

2 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

The Ministry of TimeKaliane Bradley (Sceptre (UK); Avid Reader Press (US))When you read a lot of novels for work, as I do, it can be hard to get into a new one at first. You have to push on. But The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley had me right from its teeny tiny prologue. Just 150 words or so about a man trudging through snow and hearing his ship signal to him, and somehow I was there. That’s some trick to pull off.
Hilltop Hoods Announce New Album

1 month ago | themusic.com.au | Emily Wilson

More Hilltop Hoods After years of steadily brewing anticipation, Hilltoop Hoods are finally back. The Blackwood-bred hip-hop three-piece - one of the country’s most enduring music forces - have just announced their first album in six years: Fall From The Light. Produced by One Above with additional production by Sesta and Suffa, Fall From The Light will be Hilltop Hoods’ ninth studio album and is set to be released on Friday, August 1st, through Island Records/UMA.
Every Version of You review: Sci-fi debut is a brilliant look at a disturbing future

1 month ago | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

Every Version of YouGrace Chan (Verve Books (UK, out now; US, 23 September))Science fiction that features characters who spend more time in virtual reality than in real life, whether via electrodes stuck into the backs of their necks or some kind of gloop-filled tank, isn’t exactly a new thing. In fact, picking up Grace Chan’s , I worried that the premise of the novel – some young people in the future having to decide whether to permanently…
Larry Niven interview: Ringworld legend discusses his classic novel and all things sci-fi

1 month ago | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

Larry Niven is one of the biggest names in the history of science fiction, and it was a privilege to interview him via Zoom at his home in Los Angeles recently. His 1970 novel Ringworld is the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, but he has also written a whole space-fleet-load of novels and short stories over the years, including my favourite sci-fi of all time, A World Out of Time. At 87 years of age, he is very much still writing.
This sensational novel shows what climate fiction can be

1 month ago | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

Environment It can be difficult to work out which books count as climate fiction. Emily H. Wilson reads the shortlist for the Climate Fiction prize – and discovers Roz Dineen's powerful novel Briefly Very Beautiful OrbitalSamantha HarveyThe MorningsideTéa ObrehtAnd So I RoarAbi DaréThe Ministry of TimeKaliane BradleyBriefly Very BeautifulRoz DineenClimate fiction is, ahem, hot right now. But I am still not sure we know exactly what it is.
Rereading the best science fiction writers of all time: Larry Niven, author of Ringworld

2 months ago | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

RingworldLarry Niven (Gollancz)Ringworld by Larry Niven was published in 1970 to huge acclaim, winning both Hugo and Nebula awards; it’s been in print ever since. It came out when humans had just landed on the moon and it looked like we might be on our way to the stars. The title alone evokes a particular golden age of science fiction, when (mostly male) writers wrestled with big physics and big ideas, imagining far-off futures where humans had galactic-scale adventures.
Placenta Reduces Housing Density Minimum for a Developer

2 months ago | voiceofoc.org | Emily Wilson

Placentia's Historic Water Tower, constructed in 1935, on March 9, 2022. Credit: CAROLINE LINTON, Voice of OC Land in an already approved housing development in Placentia is slated to see the minimum units per acre reduced from 65 to 15 in a city grappling to meet the state-mandated housing goals. But it raised concerns from some planning commissioners that it could set a precedent for other developers in town.
Brilliant sci-fi novel shows robots coming to grips with emancipation

Mar 19, 2025 | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

Some Body Like MeLucy Lapinska (Gollancz Out 17 April (UK))While the world grapples with the rights of regular humans versus artificial intelligence companies that want to mine both their data and their creative output, sci-fi is contending with rather different aspects of the future of AI. In fact, three books published over the past year have focused on the individual rights of AIs themselves in visions of near or near-ish futures where robots are common. Last year, by Sierra…
Five Books Expert Recommendations

Mar 16, 2025 | fivebooks.com | Emily Wilson |JOHN SMITH |JOhn Smith |Sophus Helle |John Milton

“It’s a very easy read, and a completely different world from The Iliad. Whereas The Iliad depicts a militaristic and war-wrecked world, The Odyssey is like a fairytale and it’s fascinatingly complex. It’s told in flashbacks, it has time that’s extended and time that’s compressed, and it’s told from different viewpoints.” Read more...
Sci-fi thriller Dissolution smartly interweaves time travel and memory

Feb 26, 2025 | newscientist.com | Emily Wilson

Dissolution(Nicholas Binge (Harper Collins (UK, 27 March); Penguin Random House (US, 25 March))Time travel is, of course, a staple of science fiction. The means of travelling through time may differ â€“ from a 1960s police box to a set of ancient standing stones â€“ but time shifting generally leads to all kinds of problems with “timelines” and important things being erased from or added to them. Our heroes can also get stuck in loops, doomed to repeat themselves endlessly for our pleasure unless…