Ellen Sussman | Author

Ellen Sussman
American writer of both fiction and nonfiction, writing teacher, and editor

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French Lessons Launch Party

Jun.20.2011

French Lessons Launch Party

My book tour starts in a few weeks, but I'm thinking about it as a three week party. Come party with me!

If you live in the Bay area, let's start with a wine and cheese party at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park. The reading starts at 7PM, but get there at 6:30 to share a drink with me. In fact, plan on staying after the reading -- we'll hang out til they kick us out.

Featured Works

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PUBLISHED: Jun.28.2011

French Lessons

French Lessons follows three Americans whose lives are changed over the course of a single day in Paris as they each explore the City of Lights with a French tutor, talking about love and loss.

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PUBLISHED: Jun.10.2008

Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex

Our favorite contemporary authors on an irresistible subject: sex. Antonya Nelson pays lip service to the blow job. Phillip Lopate ruminates on duration. Martha McPhee waxes poetic about hermaphrodites. From sexual relationships to sexual positions, from the classics to contemporary twists, Dirty Words collects the most titillating and provocative definitions of the most...

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PUBLISHED: Jul.09.2007

Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave

“I behave badly to set myself apart. To test myself. To push myself. To prove something. To shock someone. ... I behave badly because I can.” That’s how Ellen Sussman describes her deviant endeavors. To better understand them, she’s invited twenty-five other bad girls to share their stories. Ann Hood lies, Mary Roach confesses. Lolly Winston blasts the music; Susan Straight puts...

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PUBLISHED: Mar.01.2005

On a Night Like This

In Sussman’s heart-wrenching debut, two former high school classmates take a second chance at love, despite one partner’s terminal cancer. Resisting the impulse to descend into bathos, Sussman shows remarkable restraint in her depiction of a love affair that transforms a dying woman’s last days into a celebration of life. When Luke Bellingham, an acclaimed screenwriter in his...

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Ellen's Latest Blogs

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Nov.18.2011 - 2:19 pm

Movie Deal! (And Other News)

First the big news: movie deal! Unique Features, headed by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne who were the founders of New Line Cinema, have bought the rights to turn French Lessons into...

Jul.07.2011 - 1:55 pm

French Lessons: Events

This photo is from my first reading of Dirty Words—at a party in a penthouse apartment in San Francisco. I didn't know about the appropriate backdrop for my reading until...

Jun.15.2011 - 10:16 am

I Hated The Three Day Breast Cancer Walk

Thanks to Redroom (yay!) I have a piece up at The Huffington Post. Here's the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/red-room/breast-cancer-walk_b_875664.html

Nov.19.2010 - 1:46 pm

An Orphan Thanksgiving

This year, my family Thanksgiving plans imploded. One family member was feuding with another and someone else was taking sides and pretty soon everyone cancelled their plans to...

Comments from Ellen

Aug.24.2011 - 3:53 pm

In response to: Paris, Mon Amour

thanks

Such great comments -- thanks, Edie, Victoria and Ben!

Jul.05.2008 - 7:36 pm

In response to: Patriotism: a dirty word?

thanks, Thomas. I love the

thanks, Thomas. I love the cover of the Daily Mirror you posted! And I agree with you, we have a responsibility to make...

Jun.10.2008 - 6:09 pm

In response to: Video!

hey, Kirsten. just checked

hey, Kirsten. just checked out your site. your book looks great. good luck!

Jun.10.2008 - 4:13 pm

In response to: Video!

man, i wish i had a stamp of

man, i wish i had a stamp of that to use for all my readings! great cartoon, Belle.

Jun.10.2008 - 11:07 am

In response to: Mediterranean Summer starts today...

congratulations. sound like

congratulations. sound like a wonderful book. bravo!

Writing

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Article: Paris, Mon Amour

Article: I Love My Book Cover!

Article: Let's Change the Book Tour

Published Reviews

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Jul.02.2008

Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex

Published by NPR.org

NPR.org, July 2, 2008 · There are books, and then there are "Books We Like." Each week in Books We Like, our critics review their top picks for new fiction and nonfiction. The...

Audio & Video

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Video: Dirty Words Video!

About Ellen

Ellen Sussman is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel, French Lessons, published by Ballantine in 2011. Her first novel, On a Night Like This, was a San Francisco Chronicle Best-Seller. It has been translated into six...

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