Author

Melissa Keil

Melissa Keil was born in Melbourne, and has been a giant book nerd for as long as she can remember. She studied Cinema and Anthropology at university, and then spent a few years dabbling in graduate study, including Professional Writing and Editing. In between she has been a high school teacher, Middle Eastern tour guide, waitress, community theatre dogsbody, and IT help desk person. Now, by day, she is a children’s book editor, and spends the rest of her time writing, watching YouTube, and wrangling a cheeky spoodle named Hugo. Her debut YA novel, Life in Outer Space, was the winner of the 2013 Ampersand Project and the 2014 Ena Noël award. Her subsequent YA novels, The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl and The Secret Science of Magic, are out now. Melissa’s short story, Sundays, is featured in Begin, End, Begin, the #LoveOzYA anthology. Her books have been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year award, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award and the Gold Inky, and have been published around the world.