The art of solo dining

join me and Eleanor Wilkinson for a live conversation

books celebrating solo eating/dining

I’m typing this from a Pret in West Kensington, killing a bit of time before I go for lunch with a fellow writer friend. I do not venture this side of London very often—but I'm here because I’ve been at The London Book Fair this morning, participating in a panel about writing and community organised by

London Writers' Salon

. I enjoyed connecting with my fellow panellists, the writer/cookbook author Rosie Kellett, book marketer Georgia Henry who founded The Pitch Agency (aka: BookTok expert) and the brilliant host Parul Bavishi.

It was fun, and we had a great turnout. LBF, like all trade fairs, is mayhem. Lanyards everywhere. People queuing up for strong coffee. If you don’t like crowds then it can be a bit much, but it’s also a specific point in the calendar year where pretty much everyone in publishing is under one roof, socialising and mingling—and it’s always good to occasionally step away from the conveyor belt of life and see people in your industry IRL.

During our panel, which was called “building a community and brand around your writing”, I got to wave the flag for having engaged subscribers over followers, emphasize the importance of nurturing a smaller community rather than having an ‘audience,’ and highlight how platforms like Substack provide writers with more financial freedom in a world where writers' earnings in traditional publishing have plummeted.

Oh, and I shared my thoughts on how having ‘a brand’ can be a useful term for defining your online presence and career—consistent tone of voice, visuals, quality, vibe, style—but I do not identify as a ‘brand.’ I’m very much a human being, who happens to type a lot of words on a laptop. We discussed how social media is noisier than ever right now—it pretends to offer community, but in reality, it only divides us further. We can seek out community elsewhere—and thankfully, we have other choices now. I also spoke about simplifying my day-to-day life, and how I keep a Post-it on my desk that says: Write books + newsletter. These are my priorities for 2025.

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The art of solo dining with Emma Gannon & Eleanor Wilkinson

On that note! Something fun to tell you about. For a foodie announcement, perhaps I should be somewhere more glamorous than Pret.

This Saturday March 15th at 12:00 GMT I'll be joined by

Eleanor Wilkinson

in the Substack app for a live video conversation. I've never done one of these before—I'm dipping my toe in! I love Eleanor’s book One Pot, One Portion and Substack HQ has brought us together to talk about solo dining (as you know, my new novel—out in April—is called Table For One.)

I adore eating alone. Every month, I make a point of treating myself to a solo dining experience. Not only do I savour the food more—fully focusing on its deliciousness without the need for conversation—but I also love the romance of it. It’s a way of spending quality time with myself and investing in a truly enjoyable experience. Eleanor and I share a love for solo dining and solo travel, so we have plenty to talk about.

Our session takes place as part of Substack’s food festival Grubstack, which is bringing together top food writers, chefs, and culinary voices from around the world for live cooking demos, virtual tastings, and in-depth discussions on today’s biggest food trends. You can see the full schedule here.

You’ll need to download the Substack app to join our conversation. This is for everyone, whether you have a paid subscription or not. If you enable notifications, the app will notify you when I’m live on Saturday March 15 at 12:00 GMT. Just tap that, and you’re in.

💬 If you have any questions related to our topic that you’d like for us to answer during the live video session, then do leave them in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to get to them during our conversation.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday March 15 at 12:00 GMT <3