About
John Ellis’ nonfiction has appeared in Relief Journal, African Writer Magazine, Able Muse Review, Kalahari Review, Ginosko Literary Journal, and Embodied Effigies Magazine, among other literary periodicals. His 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, John was raised in West Africa, Europe, and the Northeastern United States. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, he studied under award-winning authors Sarah Manguso and Joyce Maynard at Saint Mary’s College of California, where he was a graduate fellow and veteran scholarship recipient. In 2020, he earned a Fulbright Scholarship to Senegal, to write about West Africa. He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Veterans Studies, an academic journal dedicated to the scholarly investigation of military veterans.
John considers all things through the grand récit and personhood of Jesus Christ; his work is an attempt to render his vita experientias within the True, the Good, and the Beautiful of Christ’s Lordship.
John can also be found on Poets & Writers’ directory of authors.
Selected Work
Narrative Nonfiction
Published in African Writer Magazine | August 2024
Published in Kalahari Review | April 2024
Published in African Writer Magazine | December 2022
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
Think Pieces
Published in Kalahari Review | September 2024
Reviews
Published in the Journal of Veterans Studies | May 2019
Published in Able Muse Review | July 2016
Articles
Published in Theology Mix | February 2021
“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
Fiction
Short story written for The Saint Mary’s College Master of Fine Arts Graduate Student Anthology | May 2017
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
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: