About Ellen
Ellen Cassedy, the author of We Are Here, has explored Lithuania’s encounter with its Jewish heritage, including the Holocaust, for ten years. Her book is the winner of numerous awards. She is a frequent speaker about the Holocaust, Lithuania, and Jewish culture. Her tips for writers offer advice on writing and being a writer.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Ellen Cassedy speaks to a variety of audiences about the Holocaust, Lithuania, Jewish culture, and Yiddish language and literature.
See all of Ellen's speaking engagements or invite Ellen to speak to your community.
Recent Publications
Ellen writes frequently about the Holocaust, Lithuania, Jewish culture, and Yiddish literature.
Read her most recent publications:
• My Yiddish Month, Na’amat Magazine
• Stones of Remembrance, Huffington Post
• Keeping the Faith, Hadassah Magazine
• Holocaust Remembrance in Lithuania, Bridges, the Lithuanian American News Journal
• Vilna’s Yiddish Kitchen Reborn , Hadassah Magazine
• Atsimenant Lietuvos žydų vardus, Bernardinai.lt
•A Summer at the Vilnius Yiddish Institute (in Yiddish!) Afn Shvel
• Samuel Bak: Painter of the Vilna Ghetto, VilNews
On the Landing
Stories by Yenta Mash
Translated by Ellen Cassedy
Northern Illinois University Press, 2018
A Yiddish Book Center Translation
“Inspiring” – Ruta Sepetys
“Rich” – Irena Klepfisz
Oedipus in Brooklyn
and other stories by Blume LempelWinner, Modern Language Assn.
Fenia & Yaakov Leviant Memorial
Prize in Yiddish Studies
Translated by
Ellen Cassedy &
Yermiyahu Ahron Taub
Mandel Vilar Press & Dryad Press
“A splendid surprise.” – Cynthia Ozick
“…a remarkable achievement…” – Kirkus Reviews
Awards and Reviews
• MLA Fenia & Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize
in Yiddish Studies
• Grub Street National Book Prize for Nonfiction
• Towson Prize for Literature
• Prakhin International Literary Foundation Award
• Silver Medal in History, ForeWord Reviews
• Best Book Award, Assoc. for the Advancement of Baltic Studies
• Shortlist, William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
• Yiddish Book Center Translation Prize
• PEN/Heim Translation Award
National Geographic says: Visit Vilnius, and read We Are Here before you go!
"In the Cauldron," a review by Christopher R. Browning
New York Review of Books
"Cassedy resists Lithuanian attempts to place Jewish and Lithuanian suffering 'side by side'....She attempts to know and comprehend rather than judge."
Book Review: We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust, by Philip K. Jason
Jewish Book Council
"Brilliantly balanced, totally engaging, and constantly penetrating."
Book Review: We Are Here, by Sean Martin
American Association for Polish-Jewish Studies
“Unusually engaging…a model for the study of interethnic relations.”
Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn
Ellen’s award-winning play, Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn, celebrates the spare beauty of a small but important life. It was adapted into a short film that won 18 festival awards and qualified for an Academy Award nomination.
"After my great-aunt Jessie died," Ellen writes, "I discovered a diary she’d kept and found myself mesmerized. I wanted her voice to be heard."
Connect with Ellen
For information about Ellen's books, upcoming speaking engagements, and more, please follow on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to Ellen's occasional e-mail newsletter. It's easy: Just enter your e-mail address into the box below. Or, e-mail Ellen.
