Melanie Thorne

Instructor Biography:

M.A., award-winning author of the novel Hand Me Down (Dutton/Plume), named a Kirkus Reviews’ Best Fiction Book of 2012.  Ms. Thorne’s short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Global City Review, Susurrus, and The Nervous Breakdown, among others.  She was awarded the Maurice Prize in Fiction, the Alva Englund Fellowship, and a Hedgebrook residency, and was a 2014 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Mentor.

Instructor Statement:

My goal in teaching fiction is to give students an arsenal of writing tools and the time and community in which to practice those tools, so that they may each find their unique voice and the confidence and courage to tell the stories only they can tell. My approach includes facilitating the careful study of published works and helping students apply their growing understanding of craft to be able to critically read their own writing and the work of fellow students.

Writing is a terrifying and beautiful thing, and the best I can offer my students is a supportive and challenging environment that encourages them to experiment with their expanding toolboxes, to take risks in form and content, to tell the hardest stories, to fail and try again. If I can teach my students one thing, it’s that the only way you really fail is if you stop writing.

Our Students Say it Best!

“Ms. Thorne is as excited about teaching this class as we are about taking it. She is a very refreshing and passionate teacher.”  — Writers’ Program Student