diff --git a/bin/git-pull-request b/bin/git-pull-request
index 0c945de..9872880 100755
--- a/bin/git-pull-request
+++ b/bin/git-pull-request
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ EOF
 # user
 
 user=$(git config user.email)
+
+if [ -z "$user" ]; then
+  user="$EMAIL"
+fi
+
 test -z "$user" && abort "git config user.email required"
 
 # branch