About Your Host
Ellen is a former adjunct writing and literature professor at George Mason University, a current creative writing adjunct at Frederick Community College, a conference planner, and a workshop attendee/coordinator – the perfect combination to understand just what you need to stretch your proverbial writer wings. A writer herself, Ellen’s work has been published by the Saturday Evening Post, the Kenyon Review (KRonline), Hunger Mountain, Liars’ League NYC, the Hong Kong Review, Crack the Spine, Stonecoast Review, and others. She’s the recipient of the George Mason 2019 Outstanding Graduate Student Award (MFA Fiction), the Porches Writing Fellowship, the Dan Rudy Fiction Award, the Marjorie Kinnear Sydor Award in Literary Citizenship, and the Kenyon Review’s Novel Writing Workshop Peter Taylor Fellowship. Trip Base twice recognized her blog about living in India as one of the top 10 best travel blogs.
Recognition, Speaking & Accolades
- 2026 Workshop Presenter, WV Entrepreneur Ecosystem Bridging Innovations Conference, Workshop: Story Powered: How to Find Your Why and Tell It Like It Matters
- January 2026: Board Member, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
- 2025: Judge, Spark Entrepreneurial Competition, WV Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- 2025: Presenter, 1st Annual Business Pitch Competition Workshop, Blue Ridge Technical College.
- 2024 People’s Choice Winner, Jump Start Jefferson, Jefferson County Development Authority
Upcoming from Ellen
Her short story collection: Love and Other Failures will debut from Cornerstone Press out of University of Wisconsin Stephens Point in September of 2027. Ellen is working on a novel titled In the Dust of Elephants. You can find out more about her at EllenWeeren.com
Ellen also works with college applicants via Make My Essay Better, helping students craft compelling, well-structured essays that showcase their unique voices and aspirations.
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