Melanie Joosten
Author of Literary Fiction
based in VIC
Melanie Joosten is the author of the novels Like Fire-Hearted Suns, Gravity Well and Berlin Syndrome, and the nonfiction work A Long Time Coming: Essays on Old Age. With a background in social work, she works in restorative justice and how we as a community can respond to harm.
Melanie is available for talks and workshops related to creative writing, historical fiction, suffrage history, research (for fiction and non-fiction), writing about social issues, ageing and ageism.
Like Fire-Hearted Suns is historical fiction detailing the militant suffragette movement as women worked together to gain the vote in the United Kingdom. Through the stories of three women it explores class, gender and societal mores for women of the time. It also reflects on the different roles and responsibilities available to women throughout their lifetimes.
Melanie has worked in the areas of family violence, elder abuse and aged care and her essay collection A Long Time Coming considers what it is like to grow older in Australia, and the challenges older people face in an ageist society.
Gravity Well and Berlin Syndrome explore themes of societal expectations of women, coercive control and motherhood. Berlin Syndrome was made into an AACTA-nominated film directed by Cate Shortland.
