Kingston writer Melanie Dugan is “all books, all the time.” The author of three novels, numerous short stories, and many book reviews, she has also spent much of her working life in publishing houses, bookstores, and libraries – including the Kingston-Frontenac Public Library, where she works. The Kingston Whig-Standard called her first book, Sometime Daughter, a “stunning début,” while the Midwest Book Review described her second, Revising Romance, as “heartwarming, amusing and…downright sexy.”

Now, with Dead Beautiful, Melanie brings us a smart, funny, fast-paced, and profound retelling of the Persephone myth. A rich exploration of the complex dynamics between mothers and daughters and the challenges young women confront as they move toward independence, Dead Beautiful

Melanie’s writing has appeared in Toronto Life, The North American Review, the Kingston Whig-Standard, and other magazines, and has been shortlisted for a CBC Literary Award. She is the former Associate Publisher of Quarry Press, and has been Managing Editor for Poetry Canada Review, Canadian Fiction, and Quarry Magazine. In 2009, she volunteered her time as Marketing and Promotions Manager for Kingston Writersfest.

Born in San Francisco, Melanie grew up in Boston, Toronto and London, England, and now lives with her family in Kingston, where she is proud to say she manages without a car.

Website: www.melanie-dugan.com