Elias Crowl (born 1986 in New York) lives and works in Manhattan. Before becoming a writer, he worked as a night porter, sound engineer for Off-Broadway productions, and library assistant, among other things—jobs that shaped his affinity for sounds, routines, and the unseen aspects of everyday life. Crowl studied English and psychology in New York but dropped out to "listen to the voices of the city." He published his first short stories in independent literary magazines. His writing revolves around urban rituals, the limits of perception, and the question of how much reality a person can bear without inventing it. When he isn't writing, he collects found objects—coasters, scraps of paper, old train tickets—and notes the soundscapes of his apartment building.