have been looking for him (am over level 20 atm) but cannot find him anywhere.have checked all inn's wherever i am (major cities) but alas no sign of him.

any ideas how to find him (or is it a bug?)

blessings of arkay upon anyone who can help

Annoyingly, he can be in any tavern, not just the major city ones.

Heres a list of the taverns: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Inns He'll be in one of em.

thank you MouseMage. looks like Elzbeth will be doing a lot of walking/drinking in the coming hours

He SHOULD spawn in the tavern that was closest when you hit level 14, but since that apparently was a while ago I see why that isn't of much help to you right now...

He was at the Nightgate Inn for some reason during one of my previous playthroughs.... WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE OF [censored] NOWHERE

Yeah, I was up there on a hunting trip one time and stopped by the Nightgate. "Who IS that?!" It had been so many level since I was "supposed" to see him and didn't, I forgot he was still somewhere in my game.

Check the Miscallaneous Quest section in Your Journal. If the objective to meet him is there, mark it on Your map and You should find him.

Though if I remember correctly, the marker only appears if he has already spoken to You...