Melissa A. Bond
PROVOCATEUR
Melissa’s 4th grade teacher was so excited about Melissa’s first story describing aliens landing in Iowa to save the sadness of the earth, that he read the grand adventure out loud to the entire class. Since that time, Melissa has brought her writing to every forum that excites her. She’s written several chapbooks of poetry, has performed in Poetry Slam nationals in both Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon. She was Associate Editor and Poetry Editor for the Wasatch Journal, a long-form, glossy magazine serving the Intermountain West. During that time, she won awards for being the Gutsiest Spoken Word Poet, Best Poet in Motion and Best Profile Writer for the Western Publishing Association’s Maggie Awards.
In addition to the printed page, Melissa loves playing around on the stage and in radio. She’s written and performed her own work in numerous venues in Salt Lake City, including the Rose Wagner Black Box during the Sundance Film Festival. She performed in The Vagina Monologues at the University of Utah’s Kingsbury Hall (in front of her grandmother and hundreds of other folks), and spent several years writing and producing fictional shorts for KRCL, Utah’s only independent radio station.
After Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, Melissa flew to Biloxi for six weeks to support efforts to run supplies such as water, food and first aid to the people still in Biloxi. Four months later, she and two other friends raised money to bring additional supplies to the 9th Ward in New Orleans. While there, Melissa and her friends helped tear down soggy drywall and support the people in the 9th Ward in sifting through the remains of their homes. In the evenings, Melissa would write. Upon their return, Melissa and her fellow artists created a multi-media show of their time in New Orleans and toured the show through Houston, San Francisco, New Orleans and Salt Lake City.
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Melissa ran a Kickstarter to support the writing of her current book, which details her shocking dependency upon the Ativan her doctor had prescribed for sleep. The Kickstarter funded in three days. The first draft of the book won second place in the Utah Original Writer’s Competition. Poe Ballantine judged and called the book, “poetic and lyrical … having been elevated to a work of art.” While writing the book, Melissa also wrote for the national blogs Mad in America and Ravishly, all while raising two hilarious children. Her son is the inspiration behind her short film, Gooogled, which premiered at the San Jose International Short Film Festival in 2016.