Emily Henry just revealed a royal family crossover that even the biggest #BookTok girlies never saw coming.
Henry, 34, appeared on a recent episode of the “Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club” podcast alongside author and collaborator Yulin Kuang. While discussing the upcoming film adaptation of Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation, the duo shared some behind-the-scenes secrets — including one about the female protagonist, Poppy.
Henry shared how she created a working relationship with Kuang, one of the People We Meet on Vacation screenwriters, and the way they worked together when it came to bringing the novel to life. (Kuang is also set to write and direct the film adaptation of Henry’s Beach Read.)
“It’s nice because we’ve been through this already once before, and I really trust her. I have read a lot of her work at this point because I’ve read her novel, I’ve read multiple drafts of her People We Meet on Vacation script. I read other writers’ scripts in between those, which was really illuminating,” Henry said, praising Kuang’s “really special” work.
Tom Blyth and Emily Bader to Star in ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ Movie
“Yulin, she basically is just … when there’s a new draft, she sends it to me. If she has a question, she’ll send it to me,” Henry continued. “There was a point where she was like, ‘Does Poppy have a middle name?’”
Henry said she initially didn’t remember if Poppy had one in the book, so they came up with one on the spot.
“It made it into a draft that I remember, and it turned it into a joke,” Kuang said. “Then that joke got rewritten and it’s no longer in the movie. But I know Poppy’s middle name.”
Henry quipped, “We’re the only two people in the world, possibly, who know it.”
But they did share that Poppy’s middle name is Diana. Yes, like Princess Diana.
“Did we decide that it was after Princess Di?” Henry added. “I feel like her mom totally named her Poppy Diana.”
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Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation is getting the Hollywood treatment with the film adaptation headed to Netflix on January 9, 2026. Emily Bader is taking on the role of Poppy Wright alongside Tom Blyth as Alex Nilsen. This will be the first of several adaptations Henry has on the horizon.
Henry confirmed during an April appearance on Good Morning America that she had seen a version of the finished film.
“They did such a beautiful job. I think the readers are going to be so thrilled because I was so thrilled,” the author gushed. “It really feels like they took the characters and they breathed life into them in this new way.”