Ellen Atlanta
British non-fiction writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ellen Atlanta Ormerod (born 6 November 1995) is an English contemporary cultural writer. Her debut book Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women (2024) was shortlisted for a Nero Book Award and earned second prize at the Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction. Her writing covers topics such as feminism, the beauty industry, and social media culture.[2]
Ellen Atlanta | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ellen Atlanta Ormerod 6 November 1995[1] Leicester, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
Ellen Atlanta Ormerod grew up in a small Leicestershire village.[3] Her mother worked in fashion design.[4] Atlanta dealt with chronic illness as a child and was "in and out of hospital from the age of eight to 22".[5]
Atlanta attended Groby Community College (now Brookvale Groby), completing her A Levels in 2014.[6][7] She earned the Lord Mayor Scholarship to study at City, University of London, graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Journalism.[8] She later completed a Master of Studies (MSt) in Creative Writing at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge in 2023.[9]
Career
While still in school, Atlanta started an online magazine/blog with her friends and was contacted by Sharmadean Reid, who liked her nail designs on Instagram and invited her to test them at Reid's WAH Nails stand in Topshop.[10] Later in university for an interview project, Atlanta reconnected with Reid, who offered her a job starting 2016. Atlanta paused her studies to help Reid open her studio WAH Nails in Soho.[3][11] Based on her familiarity with youth culture, Atlanta went into brand consulting and marketing, becoming a founding editor of Dazed Beauty in 2018.[4][12] She also joined BeautyCon and helped relaunch Reid's Beautystack,[13] writing a short film directed by Leonn Ward for the campaign.[14] After being requested to market cosmetic procedures and face-tuning technology for a company, Atlanta quit, saying "I couldn't reconcile promoting these treatments to young women with my feminism."[10]
Via a six-way auction in 2022, Headline Publishing Group acquired the rights to publish Atlanta's debut book Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women in 2024.[15] The book examines and contextualises the ways social media has amplified toxic beauty standards,[16][17] with Atlanta approaching the subject from the perspective of having worked in the beauty industry. Atlanta had noticed a rise in young girls who felt pressured to conform and look like social media influencers,[1] saying "It almost felt like overnight the industry shifted from a place that for me felt more expressive and fun into an incredibly prescriptive idea of beauty."[18]
Chloé Cooper Jones, philosophy professor at the Columbia School of the Arts, described Pixel Flesh as "an essential mirror reflecting the profound impact of beauty culture on our lives".[19] Pixel Flesh earned second prize in the Royal Society of Literature's 2022 Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction and was shortlisted for a 2024 Nero Book Award in the Non-fiction category. Atlanta appeared on the 2024 Dazed 100 list.[20]
In addition, Atlanta writes a column for Dazed. She has also contributed articles to publications including the Evening Standard and Elle UK.[21]
Bibliography
- Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women (2024)
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction | Pixel Flesh | 2nd | [22] | |
| 2024 | Nero Book Awards | Non-fiction | Shortlisted | [23] | |