Emily was born in London in 1961 but has only recently begun work as an illustrator. She has a joint honours degree in English and Russian from St Andrews University and worked for several years in film, video and television.  During this period she worked for (among others) the ICA, Television South, BBC, Spitting Image Productions and Hat Trick Productions.  She lived in France for five years (spent mostly looking after her young family) and returned to England to deal with the more than full-time job of managing one very severely autistic child and his two siblings.  Recently she completed an MA in Children's Book Illustration from Anglia Ruskin University and has been working on a number of private commissions and running children's workshops in making picture-books. She lives in Archway, North London.