Ellen Litman (born 1973) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. She received the

Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award was an award given annually to beginning women writers. Established in 1995 by American author Rona Jaffe, the Foundation offers grants to writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The award wa ...

in 2006.

Formative years

Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia, Litman emigrated with her parents in 1992 to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. She was educated at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and earned a B.S. in Information Science. For six years she worked as a software developer in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Literary career

During the fall of 1998, Litman began to formally study writing. She earned her

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Creative Writing in 2004 from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. That same year, Litman was also chosen by the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing for one of its six fellowships, which ran between August and May in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

of that year. One of three fiction writers selected, she received a $25,000 stipend to support her writing. In September 2006, newspapers reported that Litman was one of six emerging writers to receive the Rona Jaffe Foundation's Writers' Award, a $15,000 prize which is given annually to "women writers who demonstrate excellence and promise in the early stages of their careers." As of 2023, Litman is an associate professor and associate director of the Creative Writing Program at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Works

* ''The Last Chicken in America: A Novel in Stories'', (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007) * ''Mannequin Girl: A Novel'', (W. W. Norton & Company, 2014)Olidort, Shoshana
Review: Mannequin Girl by Ellen Litman
''Chicago Tribune''

References

Sources

''Contemporary Authors Online''. The Gale Group, 2007. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000162696.

External links

Ellen Litman
(official author's page), Penguin Random House. {{DEFAULTSORT:Litman, Ellen 1973 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Writers from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish Russian writers Jewish American novelists 21st-century American women writers Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winners Novelists from Pennsylvania Russian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American Jews