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MEET ELLEN JAFFE-GILL
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

I was always a reader. I started reading, my mom insists, at age two, and I remember reading chapter books, including MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE, by age five. I would read anything: adult books, newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes. I hid MAD magazine behind my notebooks in school. I also watched a LOT of television, which was always on in our house. I would do my homework in front of the TV and read everywhere else.

Ellen Jaffe-Gill

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

HARRIET THE SPY and THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

The first full-length manuscript I ever wrote was a coming-of-age novel about a 12th-grader, a girl. It was rejected by a lot of editors who liked it but thought there was too much sexuality. After a while, I decided to take some of the same characters and write a story about them at a younger age, when they wouldn’t be thinking actively about having sex. That book sold pretty fast! Now I’m thinking about rewriting the first novel, because publishers’ attitudes toward sexuality are much looser these days.

What are the topics of some of your books?

My first published book is a novel for middle-school kids, NO BIG DEAL. It’s about a gay teacher in a junior high school who is outed, causing controversy in the community. My second book is adult nonfiction, about Jewish/Gentile intermarriage. My third book, which I edited, is a collection of short writings by Jewish women across several centuries. I’m currently trying to place a picture book about my beautiful dog, Molly: the Jewish calendar through her point of view. I write a lot about Jewish stuff because I’m also a cantor, someone who sings in a synagogue, and I’m really immersed in Jewish life.

Do you do other types of writing?

I do any type of writing that people will pay me for. I’ve written dozens of magazine and newspaper articles and have also written for websites.

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from the news, from things that are happening in the world.

Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

I love doing research, which is part of my parallel career as a journalist and also part of my identity as a lifelong learner.

Do you like to include humor in your stories? Or adventure? Or mystery?

I always include humor. Even my “serious” nonfiction book was written in a conversational style and had humorous statements and comments. My published young-adult novel has a lot of funny parts, even though it’s on a serious subject, and the one I’m thinking of rewriting will be more humorous than anything else.