Melissa Stephenson

Melissa Stephenson earned her B.A. in English from The University of Montana and her M.F.A. in Fiction from Texas State University. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Rumpus, The Washington Post, Narratively, Mutha, Blackbird, Ninth Letter, Lit Hub, Ms. Magazine, High Desert Journal, The Common Reader, Hobart, and Waxwing. Her memoir, Driven, was released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in July of 2018. Driven was longlisted for the Chautauqua Book Prize, selected for Target's Discover New Writers program, and became a Hudson News Summer Reads pick. She is also the recipient of a 2020 Artist Innovation Grant from the Montana Arts Council and the winner of the 2020 Indiana Emerging Author Award. She lives in Missoula, Montana.