My debut novel, Maya & Natasha, will be published by Mariner Books in 2025.

My life is about telling stories. I studied fiction at Kalamazoo College and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. My work has appeared in the Cincinnati Review, Image, America Magazine, and elsewhere, and I’ve received support from organizations such as the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Mount (the home of Edith Wharton), and the Glen Arbor Arts Center.

Whether I’m working on a novel, a short story, or an essay, I love exploring the ways we’re shaped (and misshaped) by our communities. Nothing fascinates me more than the strangeness of human nature—and the longing for home that ties us all together.

Hi! I’m Elyse.

(image courtesy of Nicholas Smith Koblitz /The Mount, the home of Edith Wharton)