Cassedy, Ellen
March 31, 1950-
Cassedy was born March 31, 1950; New York, New York. Her mother was Sylvia Cassedy, author of children's books; her father was Edward S. Cassedy, professor of electrophysics.
She studied at the University of Chicago; University of California Berkeley (AB degree 1971); Vermont College MFA in creative writing 1994.
Began writing in high school for the school newspaper and literary magazine. First published in Scholastic magazine, 1968.
In 1973 she was a founder of 9 to 5, the organization of women office workers that went national and spawned a nationwide union, District 925 of the Service Employees International Union. The organization inspired the Hollywood hit movie “Nine to Five,” made important changes in women’s work lives— and made countless bosses get their own coffee.
She published essays and articles:
“Keeping the Faith in Vilnius, Lithuania,” Hadassah magazine, August 2016. (essay)
“Women in Yiddish Poetry: Review,” Jewish Currents, March 2015. (review)
“To dive into the self: the svive of Blume Lempel,” co-authored with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, Rosemary Horowitz, ed., Women Writers of Yiddish Literature: Critical Essays. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2015). (essay)
In book form:
Cassedy is known in the Yiddish realm for her modern translations of Yiddish works into English:
Yiddish Zoo: Anthology of Children’s Poems: translation from Yiddish of Jidiszer Zoo. Krakow: Zydowskie Stowarszyszenie Czulent, 2015. 48 pp.
“Oedipus in Brooklyn” and Other Stories by Blume Lempel; translation from Yiddish and introduction, with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub. Simsbury, CT: Mandel Vilar Press and Dryad Press, 2016. 224 pp.
On the Landing: Stories by Yenta Mash; translation from Yiddish of sixteen stories selected from Yente Mash’s four volumes of collected work. Afterword by Jessica Kirzane. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2018. 186 pp.
Good Morning! By Boris Sandler; translation from Yiddish of A Gut Morgn! New York: Yidish Branzhe, 2020. 64 pp.
Hand in Hand, an autobiographical novel by Rashel Veprinski; original title: Dos Kreytsn fun di Hent; translation from Yiddish with Anita Norich. Amherst, MA: White Goat Press, 2025. 186 pp.
So We Died: A Memoir of Life and Death in the Ghetto of Siauliai, Lithuania, by Levi Shalit: translation from Yiddish of Azoy Zaynen Mir Geshtorbn, with Veronica Belling and Andrew Cassel. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2025. 271 pp.
Her published books in English include:
9 to 5: The Working Woman's Guide to Office Survival (with Karen Nussbaum; foreword by Jane Fonda). New York: Viking-Penguin, 1983. 174 pp.
The 9 to 5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment (with Ellen Bravo). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992; reprinted by 9to5 Working Women Education Fund, 1999. 160 pp.
We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust. University of Nebraska Press (Lincoln, NE: 2012). 273 pp. Published in Lithuanian translation as "Mes Esame Cia: atsiminimai apie holokausta Lietuvoje," Obuolys (Kaunas, LT: 2013) 334 pp.
Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie (foreword by Jane Fonda). Chicago Review Press, (Chicago: 2022). 232 pp.
She translated Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 song into Yiddish.
She also wrote the play:
Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn, which was performed by Joanna Merlin at
the 92nd Street Y (2004);
The Theater Project (Baltimore, 2004),
the Brooklyn Museum of Art (New York, 2004),
Recipient of continuing recognition and numerous awards:
Best Stage Play, Moondance International Film Festival, 2002, for Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn.
a translation prize (with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub), Yiddish Book Center, 2012, for Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories by Blume Lempel.
Silver Medal in History, Book of the Year Award, ForeWord Reviews, 2012, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
Grub Street’s National Book Prize for Non-fiction, 2013, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
Prakhin International Literary Foundation Award, 2013, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
Towson Prize for Literature, awarded to a Maryland author, 2013, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
Shortlist, William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, 2014, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
Best Book Award, Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, 2014, for We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust.
PEN/Heim translation grant, 2016, for translation of work by Yenta Mash.
Leviant Prize (with Yermiyahu Ahron Taub), Modern Language Association, 2018, for Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories by Blume Lempel.
Shortlist, 2022 Sarton Award for Memoir, for Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie.
Gold medal, 2023 Independent Book Publishers Award, for Working 9 to 5: A Women's Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie.
Cassedy is an activist:
Founder and leader of 9 to 5, National Association of Women Workers, 1973-1985.
Speechwriter for the Service Employees International Union and the Clinton Administration, 1986-1998.
Board member, Yiddish of Greater Washington, 1994-2016.
She currently resides in New York, New York, USA (2026).
