Lolis Eric Elie

Lolis Eric Elie (born April 10, 1963) is an American writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and food historian best known for his work as story editor of the HBO drama Treme and story editor of AMC's Hell on Wheels.

Elie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Lolis Edward Elie, a civil rights attorney and Dr. Gerri Elie, a school principal and university professor. He has an older sister, Miguel Elizabeth Elie.

Elie is an alumnus of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and a 1981 graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School. He went on to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1985 with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. In 1986 he received his M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, later becoming Alumnus of the Year in 2012. After graduating from Columbia University, Elie went on to receive an MFA in Creative Writing from University of Virginia.

Elie began his career as a business reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He then went on to become the road manager for jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. In 1995 he became a columnist and reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. During this time he wrote several books, including Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country, a book that gained a cult-like following among food enthusiasts. Elie also wrote and produced the award-winning documentary Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (2008), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, was a winner at the 2008 San Francisco International Film Festival, and which made its TV debut on PBS in 2009.

After leaving the Times Picayune in 2009, Elie became the story editor for HBO's Treme. He wrote the episodes "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", "Shame, Shame, Shame" and "Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?" for which he won an NAACP Award. In 2013, Elie moved to Los Angeles where he became the executive story editor for AMC's Hell on Wheels. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Saveur, Gourmet, Bon Appétit, and Smithsonian magazine and he has been featured on NPR, CBS News, and 60 Minutes. His work is included in Best African American Essays and Best Food Writing: 2008. He is also a contributing editor to the Oxford American.

Elie has been featured several times on Travel Channel's No Reservations and The Layover, both hosted by Anthony Bourdain.

Elie is one of the founders of the Southern Foodways Alliance. On July 23, 2013 his book Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans was released. Saveur named the book as one of the Best July Food Books.

Television and film

• 2013 AMC's Hell on Wheels as Story Editor
• 2013 Soul Food Junkies PBS Independent Lens documentary as Himself
• 2013 60 Minutes as Himself
• 2013 Super Bowl 2013 Pregame Special: New Orleans, Let the Good Times Roll as Himself
• 2010-2013 HBO's Treme as Story Editor
• 2012 NOLAbound as Narrator
• 2012 I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say (HBO's Treme, Season 3, Episode 5) as Writer
• 2011 Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues? (HBO's "Treme", Season 2, Episode 4) as Writer
• 2011 That's What Lovers Do (HBO's "Treme", Season 2, Episode 10) as Actor
• 2010 Shame, Shame, Shame (HBO's "Treme", Season 1, Episode 5) as Writer
• 2008 After Hours with Daniel Boulud as Himself
• 2008 My 1st Time: Tribeca Film Festival as Himself
• 2008 Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans as Writer & Producer
• 2006 By Invitation Only as Project Advisor
• 2001 Smokestack Lightning: A Day in the Life of Barbecue as Producer

Books

• 2013 Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans San Francisco: Chronicle Books
• 2009 Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press
• 2005 Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country Berkeley: Ten Speed Press
• 2002 Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press