There are no recent bookmarks.

Now Playing Utah is a charitable service that showcases transformative cultural experiences across Utah. Support is provided by:

Ella Joy Olsen is the author of the Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice Root, Petal, Thorn (2016), the 15 Bytes Finalist Where the Sweet Bird Sings (2017), and the Best-Selling Audible Original Birdie & Jay (2020).

Root, Petal, Thorn and Where the Sweet Bird Sings are both based in Salt Lake City (specifically Sugar House) and were featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, and Salt Lake Magazine. Root, Petal, Thorn was archived in Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library (though it is not LDS fiction), and was spotlighted on RadioWest with Doug Fabrizio.

Ella is co-owner of Salty City Writing Workshops where she leads retreats, teaches classes, and provides coaching for local authors. She also teaches Creative Writing for the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning continuing education program. She served a year-long remote internship at the Friedman Literary Agency in New York City reading manuscript submissions,​and spent nearly a decade on the Board of Directors for the Salt Lake City Public Library System (not to mention additional decades browsing the stacks). She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writing Association (WFWA) & the Historical Novel Society (HNS). She is represented by Rachel Ekstrom at Folio Literary Management.

Ella was born and raised in Salt Lake City, though she’s also lived in Seattle, Washington and Savannah, Georgia. She currently lives in Sugar House. She is the mom of three (adult-ish) kids, the mama of two dogs ... view more »

MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST

Contact information

    Blog
/