Born in Moscow, Russia, she emigrated with her parents in 1992 to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and earned a B.S. in Information Science. For six years she worked as a software developer in Baltimore, Maryland and Boston, Massachusetts. In the fall of 1998 she began to formally study writing; she earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing in 2004 from Syracuse University.
Litman is assistant professor and associate director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Connecticut.