ELLEN MORRIS PREWITT, WRITER

Hi, y’all,

Thank you for taking a look at my work. I have award-winning audio books, print books and ebooks. Over my career, I’ve written short stories, essays, radio commentaries, novels, memoir, magazine articles, and a “how to” writing guide based on my eight years leading a weekly writing group of men and women experiencing homelessness. I’m grateful for my work to have been in Gulf Coast, Image, Salvation South, The Mississippi Free Press, River Teeth, Fourth Genre, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Admissions Project, Brevity, EAP, and elsewhere. My stories have twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize; one received a Special Mention. You can read the latest news in my writing life on the Achievements Page. I’m excited for my first traditionally-published novel—When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women—to come out in 2026.

Weaving through all my work is the joy of creating in community. In addition to the writing group for folks experiencing homelessness, I recently co-founded the weekly Contemplative Writing Group at the School for Contemplative Living, which you can check out at the School’s website. I’m also Writer-in-Residence at 100 Men Hall, a historic site on the Mississippi Blues Chitlin’ Circuit, where we talk craft and write together each month. We’d love to have you join us at either or both.

I’m on a long journey of anti-racism and ancestral work. Y’all will hear more as I learn more. I currently serve on the Mississippi Episcopal Diocese Becoming Beloved Community Racial Reconciliation Task Force. I’m a former attorney who practiced law for 19 years in Jackson and a current long distance swimmer.

I split my time between Memphis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and New Orleans, where I (and my dog) can frequently be found in costume.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

peace in creativity, Ellen

Peaceful Americans

Ellen Morris Prewitt

After Trump was elected in 2016, I waited for him to pivot from being a candidate to being president. I didn’t like him, but he was now my president. Instead, Trump kept holding campaign rallies. And calling those who didn’t vote for him “them.” I realized he didn’t want to be the president of America. He wanted to be president of people who elected him. Now Mike Johnson–the speaker of the house from my state–insults peaceful Americans, calling me an America-hating terrorist for choosing to exercise my First Amendment rights.

No Kings Rally

Yesterday, I rallied in Mississippi with Navy vets and Civil Rights veterans. With a daughter riding her dad’s shoulders. With a T-Rex, a turkey, squid, and unicorn. I teared up at a Gospel singer, admired a Palestinian American, and covered my face at an immigrant mother describing the impact of violence on her kids and their friends, who don’t understand what’s happening. For two hours, I stood on concrete to hear people express their opinions, and while I’d rather have been lining the street with my sign raised, in retrospect, I did my bit for the First Amendment. People said things I didn’t agree with, and that’s the point.

We did see some semi-terrorist action when, early on, hateful Christians pushed through the group. I say hateful because these heirs of the Crusaders gave off palpable hate, their faces contorted. That’s why they blared that we were all going to hell–they wanted us to go to hell. No “hate the sin, love the sinner” here.

Before the march, people I loved expressed worry about what would happen. Firehoses. Staged conflict to justify arrests. In preparation, I watched the de-escalation videos. I chose glasses over contacts to account for teargas. Instead, I was an old white woman with even older white women and preppy middle aged white guys and young Black women and creative sign-carriers and flag wavers, flag wavers, flag wavers galore.

Peaceful Americans

From what I’ve read, marches across the country were incredibly peaceful. According to USAToday, in the largest civil action since the first Earth Day 55 years ago, police reported no major incidents or arrests. Some folks might not want to hear it, but that peace isn’t credited solely to the organizers and protesters. The police and counter-protestors choose peace too. In our rally, only the hateful Christians breached the peace. Them, and Mike Johnson’s smear campaign. Perhaps one day even they will choose to be peaceful Americans.

You can read more here at CNN’s most read article of the morning about the concerns that motivated people to rally in protest.