She is the granddaughter of science fiction writers Judith Merril and Frederik Pohl. Her 2002 biography Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2003 and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award. Asimov's Science Fiction said in a review: "Assembled from scraps, fragments, previously published essays, and polished manuscripts by Judith Merril's granddaughter, Emily Pohl-Weary has done a superhuman job."

Pohl-Weary’s most recent book is a young adult novel, Strange Times at Western High (2006), featuring zine-publishing teen sleuth Natalie Fuentes, who teams up with a computer hacker and a graffiti artist to solve crime at her Toronto high school.

Her previous books include a collection of poetry, Iron-on Constellations (2005). Her first novel, A Girl Like Sugar (2004), was about a twenty-something girl haunted by her dead rock star boyfriend. She edited a critically acclaimed female superhero anthology, Girls Who Bite Back: Witches Mutants, Slayers and Freaks (2004).

Pohl-Weary publishes and writes for Kiss Machine magazine. She is a former editor of Broken Pencil.

She is married to Jesse Hirsh.