“John Ellis makes a strong case for humanity, and he writes such convincing, engaging, engrossing prose that you will fail to pinpoint exactly why you never stopped reading.”
“John’s language is a form of animism...an intellect sharpened by heart.”
Able Muse Review, Summer 2016 Print Edition
Embodied Effigies, Issue 7
About
Ellis’ nonfiction has appeared in print and online in Relief Journal, African Writer Magazine, Able Muse Review, Kalahari Review, Ginosko Literary Journal, and Embodied Effigies Magazine, among other literary periodicals. His debut memoir, The Desert and C.S. Lewis, about teaching San Francisco’s underprivileged youth and traversing the Mojave Desert, is forthcoming.
Born in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area, Ellis was raised in West Africa, Europe, and the Northeastern United States. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, he studied under award-winning writers Sarah Manguso, Joyce Maynard, Lysley Tenorio, and Marilyn Abildskov at Saint Mary’s College of California, where he was a graduate fellow and scholarship recipient. In 2020, Ellis earned a Fulbright Scholarship to Senegal, to write about West Africa. A former U.S. Soldier, he serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Veterans Studies, an academic journal dedicated to the scholarly investigation of military veterans.
Ellis considers all things through the grand récit of Jesus Christ, and his work is an attempt to render his vita experientias within the context of all that is True, Good, and Beautiful.
Selected Work
Narrative Nonfiction
Published in Kalahari Review | April 2024
Published in African Writer Magazine | December 2022
“Her, deconstructed”
Republished in Ginosko Literary Journal | August 2019
Published in Embodied Effigies Magazine | February 2018
“Liberia, 1985”
Published in Jonah Magazine | February 2018
Published in Relief Journal | June 2017
Fiction
Short story written for The Saint Mary’s College Master of Fine Arts Graduate Student Anthology | May 2017
Book Reviews
Published in the Journal of Veterans Studies | May 2019
Published in Able Muse Review | July 2016
Articles
“Veterans Studies’ New Trailblazer”
Written in association with the Journal of Veterans Studies for Medium.com | July 2020
Written in association with the Journal of Veterans Studies for Medium.com | December 2019
Images
Events
The French Language and the Fulbright Experience Abroad - Talk (Live)
Thoreau Middle School, Virginia | April 2024
Capturing the Beauty of Saint Louis, Senegal, in Prose - Seminar (Live)
L’Institut D’Etudes Avancees de Saint Louis, Senegal | July 2022
Veterans in Academics - John Ellis - Interview (Audio)
Veterans in Academics Podcast, Freedom and Prosperity Think Tank | May 2021
An Argonaut’s Anthology with John Ellis - Interview (Audio)
The Walk Podcast, with John I. Snyder | April 2021
MFA Alum John Ellis ’17 Wins Fulbright Award - Media (Print)
Saint Mary’s College | July 2020
Liberia, 1985 - Reading (Live)
Weekday Wanderlust, San Francisco | April 2018
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
John supports the following charitable organizations and encourages his site visitors to do the same:
Contact
To contact John for speaking/reading events, please complete the following form:
