Lucy Ellmann
Lucy Ellmann (born 18 October 1956) is an American-born British novelist based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Lucy Ellmann
- Name
- Lucy Ellmann
- Born
- 18 October 1956
- Birthplace
- Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
- Education
- Falmouth School of Art (Foundation degree, 1975) University of Essex (BA, 1980) Courtauld Institute of Art (MA, 1981)
- Spouse
- Todd McEwen
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- novelist · writer
- Fields
- belletristic literature · literary activity
- Known for
- Ducks and Newburyport
- Honours
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Languages
- English
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Lucy Ellmann (born 18 October 1956) is an American-born British novelist based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Note VALÉORINE
Lucy Ellmann (born 1956) is a novelist and writer, of British nationality. The novelist was born in Evanston.
Lucy Ellmann was educated at Courtauld Institute of Art and University of Essex. The novelist worked for University of Kent and worked in Scotland. Lucy Ellmann lived in Edinburgh. Activity centred on belletristic literature and literary activity.
Among the works is Ducks, Newburyport. Languages used include English. Honours include Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q1873769 · wikipedia · Lucy Ellmann
In this article
Biography
Biography
Lucy Ellmann studied at Courtauld Institute of Art and University of Essex. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is belletristic literature and literary activity. Places of work recorded in the authority are Scotland. Residence is recorded at Edinburgh. Employment is recorded with University of Kent. Works named in the authority record are Ducks, Newburyport. Distinctions recorded are Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lucy Ellmann • Born — 18 October 1956 • Birthplace — Evanston, Illinois, U.S. • Language — English • Citizenship — * American • British • Education — Falmouth School of Art (Foundation degree, 1975) University of Essex (BA, 1980) Courtauld Institute of Art (MA, 1981) • Notable Work — Ducks, Newburyport (2019) • Spouse — Todd McEwen • Relatives — Richard Ellmann (father) Mary Ellmann (mother) • Honorific Suffix — FRSL
Biography
Biography
Her first book, Sweet Desserts, won the Guardian Fiction Prize. She is the daughter of the American biographer and literary critic Richard Ellmann and of the feminist literary critic Mary Ellmann. She is the sister of the critic Maud Ellmann. She is married to the American writer Todd McEwen. Her fourth novel, Dot in the Universe, was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Believer Book Award. Her novel, Ducks, Newburyport was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 2019. It won the 2019 Goldsmiths Prize and the 2020 James Tait Black Prize for Fiction. Ellmann lectured and led seminars in Creative Writing at the University of Kent between September 2009 and July 2010. Ellmann has been recognised with honours and fellowships, including the Royal Literary Fund; Queen Margaret University 2017/18; University of Dundee 2011/12; Queen Margaret University 2005–07; and been a Hawthornden Fellow and Hawthornden fellowship residence at Hawthornden Castle. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2025.
Notable works
Notable works
• Sweet Desserts (1988) • Varying Degrees of Hopelessness (1991) • The Spy Who Caught a Cold (screenplay, 1995) • Man or Mango? A Lament (1999) • Dot in the Universe (2003) • Doctors & Nurses (2006) • Mimi (2013) • Ducks, Newburyport (2019) • Things Are Against Us (2021)
Places
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- Edinburgh
Named but not plotted · 1
Evanston.
Birth place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Lucy Ellmann”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1873769: Lucy Ellmann
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Warner, John. 'Ducks, Newburyport' by Lucy Ellmann: Do you have the mettle (and the wrist strength) to tackle this 1,034-page phenom? Biblioracle John Warner wonders. Chicago Tribune. 3 September 2019.
- 2.Jordan, Justine. The Booker prize 2019 longlist's biggest surprise? There aren't many. The Guardian. 24 July 2019.
- 3.Lucy Ellmann - Literature. British Council.
- 4.Lucy Ellmann. The Baffler. 4 March 2015.
- 5.Encyclopedia.com.
- 6.Cain, Sian. Booker Prize Shortlist 2019. The Guardian. 3 September 2019.
- 7.See https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/archive. Accessed 22 July 2020.
- 8.Cain, Sian. Lucy Ellmann lands James Tait Black prize, 38 years after her father's win. The Guardian. 2020-08-21. 0261-3077.
- 9.Fiction winners. The University of Edinburgh.
- 10.Time Higher Education Supplement. The core connection. 7 January 2010.
- 11.School of English - Lucy Ellmann.
- 12.Lucy Ellmann. The Royal Literary Fund.
- 13.Ellmann, Lucy. Royal Society of Literature. 2025-09-17.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
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Studied at
1- University of EssexOrganisation
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
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