Hello, I’m Ellen Carpenter, an award-winning writer and editor living in New York City.

Most recently I was editor in chief of Hemispheres, United Airlines’ inflight magazine, which ended its print run in September 2024. (You can listen to me talk about this on NPR’s All Things Considered.) I edited the work of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners and also shaped stories by interns and assistant editors still learning the craft. I wrote cover stories on South Africa and New Zealand and interviewed countless celebrities, from Ethan Hawke and Sigourney Weaver to Quinta Brunson and Dove Cameron—all while managing budgets and overseeing the staff. I also led a relaunch of the magazine’s website to expand the reach far beyond the plane's seatback pocket and hosted a monthly travel show that aired on the planes’ seatback screens. (There’s nothing quite like seeing your face on hundreds of screens on a Boeing 757.)

I’ve been a culture editor and writer my entire career—prior to Hemispheres I was editor in chief of Rhapsody (United’s magazine for first class), deputy editor at Nylon and Nylon Guys, senior editor at Spin, and style editor at Rolling Stone. Even my brief sojourn into the brand world, at Aritzia, entailed editing an online lifestyle and fashion magazine (while also overseeing all the copy for the entire brand, from landing pages and emails to store signage and clothing tags).

Over the years, I’ve written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Marie Claire, New York, Afar, and InStyle.