Melanie Dixon is an award-winning short story writer, novelist, poet, and creative writing tutor, based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Melanie writes literary fiction for adults, as well as contemporary fiction and fantasy for younger readers. She has had work published and anthologised internationally, including Bonsai, Best Small Fictions 2019, and Best Microfiction 2020. Melanie's novels for children have twice been shortlisted for the Tom Fitzgibbon Award, and are represented by Essie White of Storm Literary Agency.

She holds degrees from the University of York (BSc) and Oxford University (MSc), and is also a graduate cum laude of the creative writing programme at Hagley Writers’ Institute, and is currently a student on the  Masters in Creative Writing programme at the University of Auckland. When she’s in Christchurch, you can find Melanie teaching creative writing with her class of amazing students as part of Write On: School for Young Writers.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Melanie worked for the BBC Natural History Unit, BBCi food and NHNZ as a researcher and assistant producer. An avid reader, she is a regular note writer for the New Zealand Book Discussion Scheme, as well as  full member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.

Melanie is a keen tramper, runner, and skiier. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the great outdoors, or planning her next adventure.  Some of her all time favourties include walking the GR20 across Corsica, hiking the John Muir Trail though the Californian wilderness, a solo bike trip along the Thailand/Myanmar border, and more recently taking her kids on the Routeburn and Milford tracks, as well as sailing on HMB Endeavour.

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