Judy Taylor married the first man who asked her. She lives in the neighbourhood where she spent her uneventful childhood. She still has the same friends she first met in primary school. But everything she once knew is about to be turned upside down.

Judy might be ready to start a new life in vibrant Edinburgh, if she's prepared to accept what it means to change. First she has to ask herself if it's ever too late to make up for lost time.

The Emergence of Judy Taylor is a story about first loves and second chances. It's about love and life and sex and starlings. It's about Judy and Oliver and Paul and Fabiana and Rob and Min and Lily and Harry and a French siren called Isabella.

Prizes

Winner of Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award 2013

Incredibly droll, sensitive and intelligent. Not a word out of place. Angela is a true writer and an extremely powerful and promising voice. -- Bidisha
The Emergence of Judy Taylor is a heart-wrenching yet dryly funny tale of relationships and second chances. * Grazia *
One of the debuts of the year. * Meandmybigmouth blog *
A great book! Angela brilliantly captures the terrifying battle many face quietly in their own heads ... between the mundane and safe or brave but potentially catastrophic. -- Tracy Bloom, author of No-one Ever has Sex on a Tuesday

Angela Jackson was recently named one of UNESCO City of Literature's emerging writers. By day, she is a coach and a lecturer in psychology and education. She has written features for various newspapers including the Guardian and the Independent. The Emergence of Judy Taylor is her first novel.