Emma Simpson is a wild swimmer and life-long hobbyist writer specialising in narrative non-fiction. Having spent a couple of decades being distracted by a career as an air traffic controller and experiencing two life-wrenching events, Emma rediscovered her pen and her passion for storytelling at the same time as discovering how transformational cold-water swimming was for her health, wellbeing, and sense of connection with the world. Trained in coaching psychology, she has combined her years as an observer of human behaviour in high stress environments with her love for listening to people’s tales around the shores of a lake; mug of steaming hot tea in hand. Emma holds these stories with great care and trust as she reflects on the great oral storytelling traditions of our past.
Emma’s first book, Breaking Waves, is an exploration into the primal powers of femininity and water, community and nature, with stories gathered from around the world that demonstrate the power of connection and humanity in an increasingly complex world. Breaking Waves is due for publication in Spring 2025 by Icon Books, and will be available to pre-order from Autumn 2024.
Emma is currently working on her second book which roots back to Ireland, the land of her ancestry, exploring the significance of ‘tea’ and how we pass down family history in ways other than words.
She can generally be found swimming in rivers in a bikini in the snow, drinking tea with friends, or embarrassing her children with her compulsion to talk with anyone she meets.