Lucy Ellmann

Lucy Ellmann was born in Evanston, Illinois, but was dragged to England as a bitter and confused teenager. She always meant to return to the U.S. but somehow it never happened.

She has also written seven novels. "Sweet Desserts," which won the Guardian Fiction Prize, is about two sisters, not about desserts. "Varying Degrees of Hopelessness" is loosely based on a year Ellmann spent as an Art History student at the Courtauld Institute in London. "Man or Mango? A Lament" is a trans-Atlantic love story with really very little to do with mangoes.

"Dot in the Universe" follows a shallow woman through death to reincarnation as a possum, and beyond. "Doctors & Nurses" is a happy tale of sadistic medical malpractice. "Mimi" is about a plastic surgeon who sees the light. And Ellmann wrote a short film, "The Spy Who Caught a Cold" (Channel 4), about a nosy child at a chilly British nudist camp.

Her book, "Ducks, Newburyport," was on the longlist for the Booker Prize. It is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, which has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years. It is awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland.

After being a Lecturer in Creative Writing for a few years, Ellmann came to the conclusion that teaching an art form in an academic environment can only destroy both teacher and student. She also considers writing groups and writing workshops both futile and inhumane. In opposition to such approaches, she and Todd McEwen started the Fiction Atelier in 2011, an editorial service that offers fellow writers honest, literary, one-to-one feedback and support.