Ophiucha
Auror
One thing I've noticed in a lot of more recent fantasy featuring elves is that they can be, and are, used to sort of have a minority race while still keeping the setting predominantly European. Like, back in Medieval Europe, most kingdoms had wars between one another and rivalries and territory wars that just aren't as common in the West any more. It's harder for us, particularly in America, to empathize with the 'France vs. England' mentality since to us it's all just a generic blend of European. But we certainly can understand racial tensions, so by making France elves and England humans, you can keep the setting 'medieval Europe' but bring in dialogue and conflicts that relate more to our own conflicts. That's a more recent trend, though.
In the broader sense, yeah, I agree with most of the others. Even though I don't particularly like elves or even medieval fantasy, I grew up reading books with elven archers and their dying civilizations and half-elf healer girl love interests and long descriptions of awe-inspiring spires in elven cities of gold and their cute pointed ears. If a thousand writers read those same books that I did, it seems likely that at least a few of them would want to write about elves themselves. Although, my generation did also grow up with Harry Potter; we might be tainted with too many memories of Dobby to keep the tradition alive.
In the broader sense, yeah, I agree with most of the others. Even though I don't particularly like elves or even medieval fantasy, I grew up reading books with elven archers and their dying civilizations and half-elf healer girl love interests and long descriptions of awe-inspiring spires in elven cities of gold and their cute pointed ears. If a thousand writers read those same books that I did, it seems likely that at least a few of them would want to write about elves themselves. Although, my generation did also grow up with Harry Potter; we might be tainted with too many memories of Dobby to keep the tradition alive.