Melanie Sumner, a recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award and a fellowship from The National Endowment for the Arts, is the author of the novel, How to Write a Novel, Vintage,August 2015, and the novels, The Ghost of Milagro Creek and The School of Beauty and Charm, as well as a collection of short stories, Polite Society. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and Seventeen. Previous awards include Best New Mexico Novel, The Maria Thomas Fiction Award for Peace Corps volunteers, and the regional pick for Granta's Best Young American Novelists. Melanie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her MFA from Boston University. Currently, she lives in Georgia and teaches at Kennesaw State University. melanie-sumner.com