Author - Melanie Simms

My name is Melanie Simms and I have been writing and publishing poetry, newspaper articles, opinion editorials, and short stories for years. In fact, I published my very first poem and short story with the York Dispatch Newspaper (York, PA) in 4th grade thanks to my mother's encouragement.

There were always books in the house, growing up. Both my parents were avid readers, and my mother a newspaper editor and published poet (published in such journals as Pleiades and Ploughshares) and concert pianist was certainly a big part of that development. My Uncle, Pulitzer prize-winning war journalist with Newsday (retired) while not so active in my life was nonetheless a huge inspiration for me as well.
You can find my work in such publications as The Galway Review(Ireland), The Adelaide Literary Magazine (New York, Lisbon), The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, The Journal of Wild Culture (London, England), and The Susquehanna Life Magazine (Pennsylvania) just to name a few.

My awards include a Perry County Council Arts Sophie Award for Poetic Excellence, a Perry County Poet Laureate Post (Pennsylvania), a Vermont Writers Studio Scholarship, and finalists in both the Richard Savage Poetry Award (Bloomsburg University) and a finalist in both the poetry and fiction categories for the Adelaide Literary Competition, 2018.

Learn more about my publications, multiple radio and television appearances and more at www.poetmelaniesimms.wordpress.com