Elise Moser was born in Brooklyn and spent her childhood in small-town New Jersey. She moved to Montreal and did an English degree at McGill University, then worked at Paragraphe Bookstore for many years. She went on to become a long-time sales rep for American university presses.

Elise's short stories have been published in Canada and the US, and her adult novel, Because I Have Loved and Hidden It, was praised by the National Post as "[an] ambitious and artfully woven debut novel." Her young adult novel, Lily and Taylor, received a starred review from Kirkus.

Elise was president of the Quebec Writers' Federation (2009-2012) and is also an editor. She presently divides her time between Montreal and Sauk City, Wisconsin.