Melanie Figg is the author of the award-winning debut poetry collection, Trace, as well as the sold-out chapbook, Hurry, Love. She has won grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight and Jerome Foundations, the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and others. Her poems, personal essays, and book reviews have been published in dozens of literary journals, including The Iowa Review, Nimrod, and Iron Horse Literary Review. With over 25 years of teaching experience, Melanie teaches at the Writer’s Center and privately in the DC area, and also critiques prose manuscripts—offering specific and helpful feedback for improvement. As a certified professional coach, she works with all kinds of writers and people looking to add more creative practices to their lives, finish creative projects (by tackling procrastination, the Inner Critic, poor time management, etc.), write a new chapter after retirement, or achieve other results in their creative or personal lives. She also leads annual Women's Writing Retreats within 60 miles of DC.