Ellen Whitfield

“Ellen worked hard to understand my story, to back it and share it with the people and audiences that are seeking my type of writing, rather than a blanket approach, shooting arrows in the dark.” – Cole Williams, author of Dr. Brainchild & Radar and other award-winning children’s books

“Ellen was a wonderful publicist and, often, the kind of warm friend every writer needs when their book is about to launch.” – E.A. Aymar, award-winning author of The Unrepentant and managing editor of The Thrill Begins

Ellen balances her understanding of “the other side of the desk” when it comes to media pitching, with a true love of an avid bibliophile. She was part of the journalism community for more than seven years, working at respected print and online media outlets including The Dallas Morning News, The Advocate newspapers of Baton Rouge and New Orleans (where she coordinated book coverage), the Waco Tribune Herald and others.

Her experience on the editorial side of the travel, community and lifestyle sections of newspapers, along with her social and online media savviness as a popular Bookstagrammer, is to the benefit of authors across genres. She has an eye for design and a passion for detail.

Ellen provides daily mentorship to the Books Forward team and trains incoming publicists to provide expanded services to our growing and beloved Books Forward family.

A Louisiana State University graduate, Ellen lives in the Bayou State with her newspaper-executive husband, bright-and-spirited daughter (we know where she gets that from!) and an ever-growing collection of 550 books.