Kate Emilie

Kate Emilie is an American writer whose small-town Florida upbringing inspired much of the setting in her debut novel. Seven Dishes Before Forever won Friday Night Live at the 2025 London Festival of Writing and has been listed in several writing competitions. Kate has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University, has completed the Curtis Brown Creative "Writing Your Novel" course, and was a Faber Academy mentee. She lives outside London with her family and fluffy cat.

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Seven Dishes Before Forever

"An astonishing debut about love, loss, and learning to live again."

Young AdultFictionSpeculativeRomanceDrama

The heart-wrenching, unmissable YA debut from Kate Emilie.

‘Your menu is personalised to you, your time here, and your regret. No modifications or substitutions. You get what you are served; should you choose to eat it is another matter.’

Seventeen-year-old Zoe Hart is running out of time. In a retro diner suspended between life and death, she’s handed a menu of seven dishes. Each one is a chance to revisit her past. Each one is a chance to change her future. The full menu offers the chance to save her life.

The unforgettable next read for those who loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold and They Both Die at the End.

(Formally "Seven Dishes to Fall in Love")

Publication

UK: HarperCollins (Electric Monkey)

US: Penguin Random House (Random House Children's Books)

Release date: 1 June 2027

Underlined Author Page Penguin Random House Page

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Featured In

Interview

Words and Pictures Interview with Kate Emilie

03 July 2026

This week we have a fascinating interview with YA author Kate Emilie. She explains how she received 14 offers of representation for her debut book, why we need stories and why taking a ‘Novel Year’ changed her life. Kate Emilie is an American writer living in the UK. Her debut, Seven Dishes to Fall in Love, is a YA speculative novel which The Bookseller called “a standout YA novel at Frankfurt Book Fair”.

Events

Opening Keynote: Some Things Are Worth Waiting For with Kate Emilie

13 June 2026

Just last year, Kate Emilie was sat in your shoes attending the London Festival of Writing. She won the Friday Night Live competition with her entry Seven Dishes to Fall in Love and went on to be snapped up by agents, landing publishing deals in the UK and internationally. But while this may sound like an overnight success story, Kate's journey involved a whole lot of patience, waiting, and persistence. In this keynote, she shares her journey to inspire and motivate you to keep pushing on.

Guest Content

From Festival Winner to Two-Book Deal

03 May 2026

I still can’t believe how much has happened since winning Friday Night Live writing competition at the 2025 London Festival of Writing. Mere months after the festival, I landed an agent and an international two-book deal, but my path to publication was far from straightforward and it took many years—and abandoned manuscripts—to get here.

Guest Content

"I gave myself an ultimatum: one year to write a book and attempt to get an agent"

20 April 2026

Kate Emilie is the author of the upcoming YA speculative novel, Seven Dishes to Fall in Love, which was longlisted and a readers’ favourite in the 2025 WriteMentor Picture Book and Novel Awards, and shortlisted in the 2025 WriterMentor Idea Idol competition. Shortly after, Kate received 14 offers of representation and her debut novel went on to be acquired in the UK by HarperCollins in a four-way auction, in the US by Random House Children’s Books in an eight-way auction, and sold in nine other foreign deals to date. Kate is here today to tell us more about her experience.

BLOG

7 Things I Did to Go From Aspiring Writer to Agented Author

03 February 2026

Which landed me 14 offers of representation and multi-territory publisher auctions

BLOG

QueryTracker 'Success Story' Interview

01 December 2025

SEVEN DISHES TO FALL IN LOVE is a high-concept YA speculative novel about love in its many forms. The concept came to me in a sort of cinematic-style day-dream, but the heart of the story itself developed over time. I wanted to write about regret, sisters, first love, and what it’s like when the lightest-of-the-light and darkest-of-the-dark are happening all at once.

Deal Announcement

Electric Monkey wins four-publisher auction for Kate Emilie’s 'delicious' speculative YA romance

01 December 2025

Editorial director Sarah Levison secured UK and Commonwealth rights in a deal negotiated with Hellie Ogden at WME. The book will be published in the UK in July 2027, with a second book to follow in summer 2028.

Deal Announcement

Publisher's Marketplace Deal Report

01 December 2025

Kate Emilie's SEVEN DISHES TO FALL IN LOVE, pitched as for fans of YOU'VE REACHED SAM and IF I STAY, following a teenager suspended between life and death, who must untangle her life-altering regret before her death becomes permanent, to Elizabeth Stranahan at Random House Children's, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2027 and summer 2028, by Alyssa Reuben at WME (NA).

BLOG

My 8-Year Journey to Getting a Literary Agent

21 November 2025

I’ve always loved storytelling but I never thought I could be an author. Authors were elusive creatures, like unicorns or mermaids. You couldn’t just become one, you had to be born one. Right?

Book News

Frankfurt Book Fair 2025: Agents' Hotlists

03 October 2025

Seven Dishes to Fall in Love: High-concept YA romance debut won in a 14-way agent beauty contest. Zoe Hart is suspended between life and death until she works out her greatest regret.

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