I'm a New York-based writer and photographer specializing
in non-fiction writing and documentary photography.

I am also a drag historian and the author of book
Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag
in New York City, published in 2023 by
Hanover Square Press. It was named a 2024 Stonewall
Honor Book for the Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Book
Award, one of Vogue’s Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2023,
one of Booklist’s Best History Books of 2023, and was
a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ+
Nonfiction. In July 2024, Glitter and Concrete became
a National Bestseller.

I have presented my drag history work on CNN, at
the New York Public Library, the New-York Historical
Society, Carnegie Mellon University, Vassar College, the
Center for Brooklyn History, La MaMa Experimental
Theatre Club, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic
Preservation, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
Community Center, the Brooklyn Book Festival, the
Miami Book Fair, and more.

My writing and photography have been published in 
The New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, T: The New York
Times Style Magazine, The New Yorker, them., InsideHook,
Artforum, Elle, New York, and many others. I’m also the
host and curator of the Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction
Reading Series. I am represented by Melissa Danaczko at
Stuart Krichevsky Agency.

I like wearing leopard print and red lipstick,
often at the same time.

To contact me, please reach out via email at
elyssa [at] miss-manhattan [dot] com.