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Lindsay Ellis (born November 24, 1984) is an American science fiction author,
video essay A video essay is an essay presented in the format of a video recording or short film rather than a conventional piece of writing; the form often overlaps with other forms of video entertainment on online platforms such as YouTube. A video essay al ...
ist, film critic, and
YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
. Her
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
, '' Axiom's End'', published in July 2020, became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller.


Education and career

Ellis received her BA in Film Studies from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
in 2007, followed by an MFA from the
USC School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of Sound film, talkies, the school descends from America's first ...
in 2011. Along with her friends Elisa Hansen and Antonella "Nella" Inserra, Ellis wrote ''Awoken'', a
paranormal romance Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, from the speculative fiction genres of fantasy, scien ...
parody of ''
Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
'', about a woman falling in love with
Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon ...
, under the alias Serra Elinsen. In 2010, Ellis wrote and directed the documentary short film ''The A-Word'' about women's experience with
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
.


Nostalgia Chick (2008–2014)

From 2008 to 2014, while also studying for her MFA, Ellis was selected to host ''The Nostalgia Chick'' as part of the
Channel Awesome Channel Awesome, Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard, Illinois. The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Channel Awesome operated the ''That Guy with the Glasses'' we ...
production company, a web series based on the ''
Nostalgia Critic ''Nostalgia Critic'' is an American review comedy web series created, directed by, and starring comedian Doug Walker. The series initially launched on YouTube on July 3, 2007, before moving to Walker's own site, That Guy with the Glasses, and f ...
''. She went on to create over 100 videos as part of the series before leaving in 2014 to focus more on long-form
video essay A video essay is an essay presented in the format of a video recording or short film rather than a conventional piece of writing; the form often overlaps with other forms of video entertainment on online platforms such as YouTube. A video essay al ...
s.


Video essays (2014–present)

On her YouTube channel, Ellis has frequently made videos about
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
films. Other works include "The Whole Plate", a long-running series examining the ''Transformers'' film series and the work of
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
, which has received more than 4 million views, and a three-part series about the production of ''The Hobbit'' trilogy and its effect on the New Zealand film industry. Her ''Loose Canon'' series explores derivations of literary and film characters over time. Since 2017, her focus on her channel has been on video essays about films. Ellis says she most enjoys thinking about "things that are deeply flawed but have this really interesting potential". Her videos are created with a small team of part-time staff. In addition to covering film topics, she has also created videos on being a YouTube content creator. Ellis also co-hosts the ''It's Lit!'' web series, alongside fellow YouTuber Princess Weekes, for
PBS Digital Studios PBS Digital Studios is a non-profit organization through which PBS distributes original educational web video content. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it comprises both original series and partnerships with existing YouTube YouTube is ...
, which explores trends in
American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...
as a companion piece to ''The Great American Read'' on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
itself. The three-part documentary ''The Hobbit Duology'' (2018), which Ellis wrote and edited with Angelina Meehan, was a finalist for the 2019
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
for Best Related Work. Ellis was one of the founders of the Standard creator community along with Dave Wiskus,
CGP Grey CGP Grey is an American educational entertainment, educational YouTuber, podcaster, and Online streamer, live streamer based in the United Kingdom who creates explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, sociology, h ...
, Philipp Dettmer, and many other creators. Through Standard, she has released most of her content on Standard's
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
streaming video service, including an extended cut on
Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Known for his work in film and television he has received numerous accolades includ ...
's ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
''. She releases content early on
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...
, where she has over 9,000 patrons, making her one of the top 50 creators on the platform. Throughout her career online, Ellis has been subject to multiple campaigns of
online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...
. One such campaign occurred after she compared the film ''
Raya and the Last Dragon ''Raya and the Last Dragon'' ( ) is a 2021 American animated fantasy action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by ...
'' to '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, which detractors perceived to be a racist generalization of media featuring
Asian people "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...
. In a 2021 Patreon blog post titled "Walking away from Omelas" (an allusion to the short story "
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" () is a 1973 short work of philosophical fiction by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. With deliberately both vague and vivid descriptions, the narrator depicts a summer festival in the utopian city of Omela ...
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...
), she announced her retirement from YouTube and content creation, citing
cancel culture Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned or fired, often aided by social media. This shunning may extend to social or professio ...
and online harassment. In June 2022, Ellis resurfaced publicly at Vidcon, where she discussed her life following her online retirement and the impact it had on her own mental health. She made the same accusations of harassment. Ellis announced through her Patreon that, while she still intended to never return to YouTube, she would be releasing new content exclusively through Nebula, with her patrons getting free access as a Patreon perk. In October 2022, Ellis posted her first video essay in nearly one year on streaming platform Nebula, discussing the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. In 2024, Ellis returned to YouTube, while still continuing to publish video content on Nebula.


''Noumena'' (2020–present)

In early 2020, Ellis co-founded '' MusicalSplaining'', a podcast in which she, accompanied by director and illustrator Kaveh Taherian, discussed a different musical every two weeks. It was included in ''
O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as ''Oprah Daily''. Overview It was first pu ...
''s top 20 new podcasts of 2020. Ellis' debut novel, '' Axiom's End'', a science fiction novel set in 2007, planned as the first book, of five, in the ''Noumena'' series. was published by
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
on July 21, 2020, and entered ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list at number 7 on August 9, as well as appearing on the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' and ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' bestseller lists. Ellis was subsequently shortlisted for the ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer, which is given out during the
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
ceremonies. In July 2022, Ellis made a guest appearance on '' MusicalSplaining''. She also appeared in the final episode of the podcast in December 2023.


Personal life

Ellis grew up in Johnson City,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. She is
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
and a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
. Ellis and her husband Nick Hansen live in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. They wed in 2019 and have two daughters together, born in 2022 and 2024.


Works

* ''Noumena'' series: ** '' Axiom's End'' (2020) ** '' Truth of the Divine'' (2021) ** ''Apostles of Mercy'' (2024)


Awards and nominations


See also

*
List of LGBT YouTubers A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
ContraPoints Natalie Wynn (born October 21, 1988) is an American left-wing YouTuber, political commentator, and cultural critic. She is best known for her YouTube channel, ContraPoints, where she creates video essays exploring topics such as politics, gen ...
*
BreadTube BreadTube or LeftTube is a loose and informal group of online personalities who create video content, including video essays and livestreams, from socialist, social democratic, communist, anarchist, and other left-wing perspectives. BreadTube cre ...


References


External links

* *
Lindsay Ellis's channel
on
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Lindsay 1984 births Living people 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers American feminists American film critics American LGBTQ novelists American science fiction writers American women film critics American women founders American founders American women podcasters American women science fiction and fantasy writers American bisexual writers American bisexual women Channel Awesome Commentary YouTubers Bisexual women writers Bisexual novelists Bisexual feminists LGBTQ podcasters LGBTQ YouTubers LGBTQ people from Tennessee Nebula content creators PBS people People from Johnson City, Tennessee Pseudonymous women writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Victims of cyberbullying Video essayists Writers from Tennessee YouTube channels launched in 2013 YouTube critics and reviewers YouTubers from Tennessee LGBTQ media critics