Emily Smiley is a horror and dark fantasy author who encourages her readers to discover deeper truths within themselves through the exploration of fear, grief, and trauma, with a splash of dark humor and a soupçon of spice. She paneled at World Con 2025, NorWesCon 2026, and Stoker Con 2026. Her work can be found at Crow and Cross Keys and the Creepy podcast. Her novel, Treading Water, won the 2024 PNWA novel contest. Emily is the Programming Coordinator for the Writers’ Studio at the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network and is a co-founder of Content Hospital—a speculative fiction writing critique and marketing collective. She also serves as the Operations Lead for the Story Island Writers Conference. She is a member of the HWA, SFWA, Wi HAMA, and BSFA. Emily is represented by A.J. Van Belle at the Booker Albert Literary Agency.