Emilie Pine Books in Order

Where to Start: The Recommended Reading Path

For readers approaching Emilie Pine for the first time, her bibliography is small but exceptionally powerful. Because her work is divided between creative non-fiction, contemporary fiction, and dense academic studies, your starting point depends entirely on what style of writing you prefer. However, the most rewarding reading path is to follow her creative journey from raw personal essays into fiction.

We highly recommend starting with her landmark debut essay collection, Notes to Self (2018). It is the book that established Pine as a major literary voice, and its success paved the way for her creative writing career. Once you have experienced the intimate and conversational tone of her non-fiction, you should transition to her debut novel, Ruth & Pen (2022), which carries many of the same themes—grief, infertility, and the search for connection—into the realm of fiction. Following this path allows you to see how Pine translates real-world trauma and personal experiences into crafted, empathetic character studies.

For readers who want to follow her evolution chronologically, the sequence is straightforward as all of her creative works are standalone and can be read in any order. The upcoming collection On Being Seen (scheduled for release in early 2027) will serve as a direct thematic successor to her first essay collection, making it the perfect third step in your reading journey.

The Non-Fiction Path: Radical Honesty and Vulnerability

Pine’s creative non-fiction is defined by what critics call a radical, almost shocking honesty. She does not write generic memoir fluff; instead, she uses personal essays to dissect experiences that society often forces women to keep secret or carry with shame.

Notes to Self: Essays (2018)

This collection contains six deeply personal essays that read like a cohesive memoir. Pine tackles taboo subjects with a voice that is direct, warm, and intensely human. The essays cover her father’s severe alcoholism and near-death experience, her personal struggles with infertility and miscarriage, her history of teenage rebellion, body image issues, and her experiences with sexual violence. By exposing her own vulnerabilities, Pine invites readers to reflect on their own hidden pains. The book won the prestigious An Post Irish Book of the Year award in 2018 and remains an essential modern Irish read.

On Being Seen (Forthcoming 2027)

Scheduled for publication on January 28, 2027, this highly anticipated follow-up collection continues Pine’s exploration of complex and difficult subjects. In this book, she writes with fierce candor about rape culture, toxic relationships, the vulnerabilities of traveling alone, and what it means to feel alive. It promises to deepen the themes of bodily autonomy and survival introduced in her debut.

The Fiction Path: Dublin Through Two Lenses

Transitioning from essayist to novelist, Pine proved her versatility as a storyteller with her debut novel. While her fiction is less confessional than her essays, it is no less emotionally resonant.

Ruth & Pen (2022)

Set entirely over the course of a single day—October 7, 2019—in Dublin, this novel follows two very different women who do not know each other but whose internal struggles mirror one another. Ruth is a therapist in her middle years, dealing with a marriage in crisis and the painful grief of childlessness. Pen is a neurodivergent teenager trying to find the courage to confess her love to her best friend Alice against the backdrop of a youth climate strike. Through these dual perspectives, Pine explores how women navigate different stages of life, love, and grief. The novel is celebrated for its tender portrayal of everyday courage and won the Kate O'Brien Award in 2023.

The Academic Corner: Memory and Performance

Before achieving international fame as a creative writer, Emilie Pine built a distinguished career as a Professor of Modern Drama at University College Dublin. For readers who want to dive deeper into the intellectual foundations of her creative works, her academic publications offer fascinating context. Her academic research focuses on how trauma, history, and memory are performed and commodified in culture.

• The Politics of Irish Memory (2011): This scholarly monograph analyzes how memory is represented in contemporary Irish culture, from theatre to memorials. It lays the groundwork for Pine's deep preoccupation with how personal and national traumas are remembered.
• The Memory Marketplace (2020): This book explores the ethics of representing trauma on stage. Pine introduces the concept of the 'memory marketplace' to examine how stories of pain (such as institutional abuse in Ireland) are performed and consumed by audiences, asking what responsibilities we have as witnesses to others' trauma.

Emilie Pine Books in Publication Order

If you prefer to read Emilie Pine's books in the order they were published, here is the complete bibliography. We have separated her creative works from her primary academic volumes for clarity.

Creative Fiction and Non-Fiction

1. Notes to Self: Essays (2018) – Creative Non-Fiction
2. Ruth & Pen (2022) – Standalone Novel
3. On Being Seen (Forthcoming January 2027) – Creative Non-Fiction

Academic Works and Edited Volumes

1. The Politics of Irish Memory: Performing Remembrance in Contemporary Irish Culture (2011)
2. The Body in Pain in Irish Literature and Culture (2016) – Editor
3. Moving Memory: The Dynamics of the Past in Irish Culture (2017) – Editor
4. Irish Studies Now (2020) – Editor (Special Jubilee Issue of Irish University Review)
5. The Memory Marketplace: Witnessing Pain in Contemporary Irish and International Theatre (2020)

What to Know Before You Start (Reading Advice & Caveats)

Because Emilie Pine writes with such intense honesty about real-world trauma, readers should be prepared for heavy emotional themes. Notes to Self contains detailed accounts of addiction, severe illness, pregnancy loss, and sexual assault. If you are sensitive to these topics, we recommend starting with her novel Ruth & Pen, which handles similar emotional struggles with a gentler, fictional touch.

None of Pine's books require previous knowledge or context; they are entirely self-contained. The setting of Dublin is a character in its own right in both Notes to Self and Ruth & Pen, making them wonderful choices for lovers of modern Irish literature. Her prose is accessible and conversational, meaning her books are quick to read, but they carry an emotional weight that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.