Ellen Wiles

Ellen Wiles is a novelist, lecturer, anthropologist, and curator. Ellen’s fiction debut is THE INVISIBLE CROWD (HarperCollins, November 2017), a multi-voice novel about immigration, serendipity, prejudice, and kindness. It tells the story of Jude, a barrister; Yonas, her Eritrean client, who was smuggled into the UK; and a variety of people who meet Yonas as he escapes his traffickers and tries to seek asylum. The story was inspired by a legal case Ellen worked on as a barrister and voluntary work with refugees. The book was awarded a Victor Turner Prize and was a Guardian readers’ book of the year.

Her first book is SAFFRON SHADOWS (Columbia University Press, 2015): an exploration of literary and cultural life in Myanmar (Burma) under a repressive censorship regime and beyond. It features new translations of fiction paired with interviews with authors from three generations and evocative descriptions of the place and people.

Her next book is LIVE LITERATURE (Palgrave, 2021): a book about the growing phenomenon of live literary events from salons to festivals in the digitalizing 21st century, how they change the way that participants think about books, and shape contemporary literary culture – and how we can better understand and communicate the value of live performance events, particularly in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. It includes ethnographic chapters about the Hay Festival and the Polari salon and interviews with literary figures, including Simon Armitage and Colm Tóibín, alongside a variety of reader-audience members.

Alongside her live literature research and writing, Ellen curates literary events and cross-arts experiences. She is the founder of Ark, an experimental live literature project to create immersive short story performances in library spaces, supported by Arts Council England. She has directed shows at the British Library, among other spaces.

Ellen now works as a Creative Writing Lecturer at Exeter University. Before focusing on writing and research, she spent seven years practicing as a barrister based in London, specializing in human rights. During that time, she worked on legal projects in Myanmar, Thailand, and Botswana, as well as working in the British courts. Ellen lives with her husband and two small children in Exeter. She is currently working on her second novel, for which the Society of Authors has awarded her a K Blundell Trust Award.