Meet the Author

A middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair stands in a library, wearing a royal blue blouse with floral embroidery, smiling gently, with her arms crossed in front of her, surrounded by shelves filled with books.

Photo of Elisa Speranza by Cheryl Gerber

Elisa M. Speranza is a writer, literary citizen, and the author of two historical novels, Triage (2026) and The Italian Prisoner (2022), a finalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She writes because she believes a good story, well told, can improve the human condition. She is drawn to characters who’ve been kept in the shadows and deserve their due, especially women.

Elisa is board chair and an instructor for the nonprofit New Orleans Writers Workshop (NOWW). She has been a featured author at the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival, the Louisiana Book Festival, the Salem (MA) LitFest, and Islanders Write. She’s a co-founder of the Washashores Writers Collective, a vibrant sisterhood of writers connected to the island of Martha’s Vineyard. In 2025, she was co-editor of and a contributor to the anthology Washashores Review, Volume 1. She writes “The Bricklayer’s Daughter” newsletter on Substack. Through NOWW, she offers workshops and one-on-one consulting to help other authors with their book publicity strategies.

Before launching her “encore” literary career, Elisa worked in journalism, local government, politics, and as a global business executive, mostly focused on water and other critical infrastructure. She is a veteran of nonprofit and company boards, specializing in governance, strategy, and people leadership.

Elisa was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the proud granddaughter of Irish and Italian immigrants. She’s been a writer and book nerd all her life. Her first paid job was in the children’s room of her town’s public library. An alumna of Boston College and the Harvard Kennedy School, she spent her formative years in and around Boston (go Red Sox) before moving south in 2002. She lives with Jon Kardon in two unique and magical places: New Orleans and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.

Background paper texture
John and Mary Speranza – A man and woman sitting in an old-fashioned car.
Fred and Fran Speranza – A woman in a light pink dress and man in a suit with a bow tie smiling and looking at the camera.
Ida Power looking off to the side, with glasses on and smiling.
Two women standing and a man sitting in front of them, all three looking at the camera and smiling.

Some of the ancestors, left to right: John and Mary Speranza, Fred and Fran Speranza, Ida Power, Elena (Drislane), Joanna (Reardon), and Fred Speranza.

Some of the ancestors, top to bottom: John and Mary Speranza, Fred and Fran Speranza, Ida Power, Elena (Drislane) Joanna (Reardon) and Fred Speranza.

Text reading 'The Bricklayer's Daughter' on a brick-patterned background.

Find and follow Elisa on Substack for more thoughts on writing, books, and literary citizenship.

Click each photo to explore Elisa’s most popular Substack posts and sign up for “The Bricklayer’s Daughter,” where you can subscribe for free and access past blog posts on The Italian Prisoner’s fascinating backstory.

Sculpture of a woman with a child.
Italian countryside, a roof, the tops of tress, and rolling hills.
Librarians on the Front Lines Substack Article. An open book with three silhouette's and the words "The Librarians".