Cathy Mellett

Fiction Writer

Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan US
Email: 
cathydmellett@gmail.com
Website: 
cathymellett.com
Twitter/X: 
@CathyMellett

Author's Bio

Cathy Mellett's short stories and memoirs have been published in Michigan Quarterly Review, Southwest Review, Ohio State's The Journal, The Literary Review, Midwestern Gothic, The Rumpus, The Yale Review, and many other literary magazines. She has received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant for Fiction as well as residencies at Yaddo, Ragdale, and Villa Montalvo. She recently completed a memoir, The Part-Time Daughter: The Story of a Girl and the House that Saved Her. Her collection of stories, The Helens of Troy, Michigan is a finalist for the 2026 Iowa Story Award. 

Education: 
University of Pittsburgh MFA
Writers Retreats: 
Ragdale
Yaddo

Publications & Prizes

Chapbook:
Saturday Afternoon in My Kitchen (Poetry New York, 1999)
Journals:
Animal: Beast of a Literary Magazine
,
Atlas & Alice
,
Bull: Men's Fiction
,
Carbon Culture Review
,
Hobart
,
Pif Magazine
,
The Rumpus
,
Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments
,
The Great American Literary Magazine
Prizes won: 

2026 Iowa Short Fiction Award Finalist - Story Collection 

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant for Fiction Writing

"The Green Bridge," Best of Net Nomination by Atlas + Alice

University of Indiana Writers Conference Humor Award (Short Story)

"Dappled Things," J.F. Powers Short Story Honorable Mention

New Millennium Writings - Honorable Mention

Villa Montalvo Residency - Annual Fiction Award

Great American Fiction Contest - Saturday Evening Post - Runner-up

"Angels," LitMag Anton Chekov Award - Shortlist

 

 

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Rebecca Makkai Kazuo Ishiguro Elizabeth Strout Susan Orlean Min Jin Lee Anthony Doerr Pearl S. Buck Willa Cather John Steinbeck So many more . . .

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
White
Prefers to work with: 
Adults
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania
Raised in: 
Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jun 03, 2026