Hi, I'm Melanie. I’m a writer, cookie monster, ukulele hero, reading addict, and fountain pen aficionado. When I'm not writing, I enjoy being taken on walks by my dogs and traveling to strange roadside attractions with my better half.

This year, I was the runner-up for the SCBWI Sue Alexander Award, which is given each year to the most promising manuscript submitted during the international summer conference. My novel Atlanta/Pacifica was selected for the award by an editor at a major publishing house.

In 2016, I won the SCBWI Los Angeles Region Mentorship Contest and got the opportunity to work with E. Katherine Kottaras (visit her here!), who turned out to be pretty much the best mentor and person ever. I was the grand prize winner of the SCBWI LA #KT250 competition for the first quarter of 2019, and in 2013, my short story "Thief River Falls" was an honorable mention for the national Stony Brook Short Fiction Prize.

I've been published in literary journals including Lunch Ticket and New Forum. I hold a BA in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing from the University of California, Irvine, and I’ve studied with Patricia McCormick, Melissa Bank, and Ron Carlson, among others.

I also volunteer as a writing mentor through WriteGirl, which is an incredible organization that seeks to empower teen girls through writing. Please check them out at writegirl.org!