Picked as a most anticipated book of 2025 by Goodreads, Vogue, LitHub and TIME–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

'Heralds the arrival of a powerful new literary voice' VOGUE

'Pacy, immaculately modulated' OBSERVER

'Had me turning the pages well into the night' JESSICA KNOLL, author of BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN

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Annie is nine months pregnant.

She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA.

That’s when the massive earthquake hits.

There’s nothing to do but walk.

Annie is 37 weeks pregnant, standing in IKEA, finally about to take home the crib she should have bought months ago. That’s when it happens – the long-anticipated Cascadia Earthquake, dismantling the East Coast of America in a matter of minutes.

Propulsive, disruptive, funny, terrifying, Tilt is a novel about how the foundations of our lives are built and shaken. About a woman trying to walk back to the husband she’s long been pushing away. About put-off dreams and inevitability and what makes us keep moving forward.

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'A compulsive read' LUAN GOLDIE, author of NIGHTINGALE POINT

'I was so mesmerized that I blew off all my responsibilities, threw all other reading aside, and blistered through the whole thing in one sitting' ANGIE KIM, author of HAPPINESS FALLS

'The Road meets Nightbitch meets What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I loved this novel' LYDIA KIESLING, author of The Golden State

'This riveting book made me laugh, cry, and think. I couldn’t put it down' HELEN PHILLIPS, author of Hum

Details

ISBN13: 9780008667719
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 240
Edition:
Publication Date: 01 Aug 2025
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 21.6(H)x13.5(L)x1.6(W)260
Weight (gm): 260

Author Biography

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer. Her work has been published in the Guardian, the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. She lives in Oregon.

Reviews

'Swerving from social satire to end-times quest, Pattee’s pacy, immaculately modulated debut novel … spans barely a day yet captures plenty about the compromises and consolations of marriage and midlife, about the gnawing discontent of unfulfilled creative promise and the erasure of self that comes with looming motherhood … Annie’s voice rings out, rueful, tender and increasingly fierce' Observer

‘Funny, tender and hopeful’ Marie Claire

‘Tilt heralds the arrival of a powerful new literary voice’ Vogue

'Tilt is going to be the debut everyone is talking about’ Glamour

'A killer set-up' Daily Mail

'Promises wit and style, and reminders of humanity in the face of disaster. A force to be reckoned with' LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025

'A groundbreaking (heh) hybrid of survival adventure and character portrait' Goodreads, Meet the Hottest Debut Novels of 2025

'A riveting and relatable survival tale. You will be biting your nails and Googling at the same time' Today.com, 50 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2025

'My heart was in my mouth pretty much all the way… Pattee is a massive talent to watch' Good Housekeeping

'Every gorgeous page pulses with humour, heartbreak, and the horror of human behaviour when the unthinkable happens. Emma Pattee has written a smashing debut that had me turning the pages well into the night' JESSICA KNOLL

'Tilt is a remarkable debut—a gorgeous, haunting blend of a suspenseful survival thriller and a fierce portrait of maternal love. I was so mesmerized that I blew off all my responsibilities, threw all other reading aside, and blistered through the whole thing in one sitting, loving every moment' ANGIE KIM

'Hugely absorbing … The topics of motherhood, marriage and ambition are explored with honesty, care and a surprising amount of humour. It’s a compulsive read, one of my favourite books of the year' LUAN GOLDIE

'Equal parts heart-wrenching and life-affirming, this riveting book made me laugh, cry, and think. I couldn’t put it down' HELEN PHILLIPS