Ali Millar talks to author Emma Jane Unsworth, who presents her second novel, Animals, which focuses on best friends Laura and Tyler who live together, angrily philosophising and leading each other astray in the pubs and flats of Manchester. Things are set to change as Laura is engaged to teetotal Jim, with the wedding just months away. Tyler becomes hell-bent on sabotaging her friend’s plans for a different life.

Emma Jane Unsworth’s first novel Hungry, the Stars and Everything (Hidden Gem) won a Society of Authors Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Portico Prize 2012. Her short story ‘I Arrive First’ was published in The Best British Short Stories 2012 (Salt). She has worked as a journalist, a columnist for The Big Issue, and a barmaid. Her second novel Animals is out now.