Ninetween.

Writing advice, book news, exclusive short stories, and reading recommendations from middle grade author, Elysia Rourke. Never miss an update with emails sent directly to your inbox.

Monthly on the 19th at 19:00 (7 PM) EST.

Elysia Rourke.

Elysia (uh-LEE-sha) writes about seas, valleys, and mountains both real and imagined. She loves a good coming-of-age story, especially if it tackles the big things in life: family, purpose, and finding our footing in a messy, beautiful world. ​

Elysia lives in Almonte, Ontario with her husband, two sons, and dog. She has a weakness for London fogs, Christmas morning, and a salty ocean breeze.

Elysia is the founder of the Almonte Writers Guild.​ She sits on the board of Almonte Readers & Writers, a local non-profit dedicated to presenting literary events and programs within Lanark County. She is the fiction editor of The LAM, a literary arts magazine dedicated to promoting artists and writers in Lanark County.

She is represented by Rachel Ekstrom Courage at Courage Literary.

Whale Fall.

middle grade contemporary

Stacey Barney at Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books has bought WHALE FALL by Elysia Rourke, a debut middle grade novel in the tradition of Black Beauty and The One and Only Ivan, in which a young orca who dreams of becoming the matriarch and storyteller of her pod undergoes an emotional journey from wild animal to a life in captivity.

Publication is planned for 2026.