Ellen Hart is a highly acclaimed American author, best known for her mystery novels. She has written over thirty books, with most of them featuring the lead characters of Jane Lawless or Sophie Greenway. Hart's work has been recognized with multiple awards, including five Lambda Literary Awards for Best Lesbian Mystery, three Minnesota Book Awards for Best Popular Fiction, and three Golden Crown Literary Awards in several categories. She has also received the Alice B. Medal and was made an official GLBT Literary Saint at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in 2005. In 2010, Ellen received the GCLS Trailblazer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of lesbian literature.
Before becoming a successful author, Ellen Hart worked as a professional chef in restaurants for over fourteen years. Her experience in the culinary world inspired her to write the first Jane Lawless book, featuring a female chef as the lead. The series has since become one of the best-selling mystery novel series with a female lead and has received numerous awards. Hart's ability to combine her passion for cooking and writing has resulted in her successful career as a mystery novelist.
Ellen Hart has taught "An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery" through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation, for the past sixteen years. She has published thirty-two crime novels in two different series, with her latest Sophie Greenway mystery being "No Reservations Required" and the newest Jane Lawless mystery being "Fever in the Dark." Ellen lives in Minneapolis with her partner of thirty-seven years. Her work continues to entertain and captivate readers, showcasing her talent for storytelling and her unique perspective on the mystery genre.