elliot quinn kennedy was born into a quiet, happy family on march 23, 1992. her parents, ray and marilyn kennedy had one other daughter named wyatt when they welcomed the little girl into their home in sleepy hollow, new york. though marilyn was a homemaker when elliot was born, she signed up for classes at suny purchase college a few months after she was born. primarily going to school at night so she could watch the kids while her husband worked, marilyn realized how hard the two jobs she now had would be. she plugged on. ellie was a colicky baby and that made it almost impossible for marilyn to get her schoolwork done. one day, she opened her biology book and started reading to both her daughters and they both sat and listened, like it was some grand fairytale. from then on, especially for ellie, it didn't matter what their mother read to them, as long as she was reading.
before ellie could even read or write, she was telling her family stories. she told them how the neighbor's dog was really an angel, sent to watch them and make sure they were okay, battling evil squirrels and snakes to keep them safe. about the princess that went to daycare and was about to declare her a princess any day. making up what her grandma's cats were really thinking. ellie was never more excited than when she learned to spell, to read, to write. school was her favorite and she always felt it was made just for her.
school being the best place was not always the case. as she got older, el found herself spending the time she was meant to be learning math and science daydreaming up new scenarios for stories. she often spent her weekends in her room, reading and writing, rather than going out and partying like most high school kids did. she spent her study halls taking notes on characters instead of studying for tests. it wasn't that she was a bad student, it was just that she had to work a bit harder to do well in her studies that didn't require much reading.
thankfully she had her mother to tutor her in things she didn't quite get (ie: math and science) and it turned out that working on her writing wasn't such a bad thing. when she was eighteen, just starting college at columbia with a major in creative writing, el's first book confessions of a teenage outsider was published by little, brown. the book had been written while she was in high school and was about a girl who was a bit of an outsider who identified as nerd or loser. the main point of the story was that no one is perfect and no one should even aspire to be perfect because there's always going to be someone who has a higher gpa, a higher paycheck, a higher fillintheblank. it was about loving oneself the way that you are. it's a message that ellie still keeps very close to her heart. she wasn't always the very best in school, she's certainly not the best author, and she's not the prettiest to anyone but her sisters and parents. she's completely okay with this. parts of the book (before publication) were used in her application to get into columbia.
since her first novel came out, ellie has been consistently working on new material, publishing more books, and continuing her education. she has published 3 ya novels. she currentlly lives in bed-stuy, new york and attends columbia university as a graduate student. she has her bfa in creative writing.
published by little, brown, september 2010.
published by little, brown, october 2012.
published by little, brown, april 2015.