Ellen S. Jaffe grew up in New York City, has lived in Canada since 1979; and now makes her home in Hamilton, Ontario where she is active in the writing community. She has written two books, Water Children, a poetry collection (Mini Mocho Press, 2002) and Writing Your Way: Creating a Personal Journal (Sumach Press, 2001), about the art and craft of writing. Both books received awards from the Hamilton & Region Arts Council.

She has published poems and stories in journals including CV2, Capilano Review, Kairos and Fireweed.  She has adapted Margaret Laurence's novel for young people, Jason's Quest, into a play.  She teaches writing in schools, and works with the Canada-wide program, "Learning Through the Arts" (™).