Melanie Joosten

Sep 12, 2024 | futurewomen.com | Alice Monfries |Melanie Joosten |Shannah Kennedy

For most of us it’s been a weird and not-so-wonderful time at work. Whether you’re an essential worker who was on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic or had an office job where you’re now being asked to work mainly from the living room – things have changed. For those who have lost their jobs or are working fewer hours than you might like that change is particularly tough and our best wishes are yours to keep.

Jul 12, 2024 | futurewomen.com | Zoya Patel |Tina Makereti |Bri Lee |Melanie Joosten

For most of my career, I have loathed the 9-5. Not because of bad workplaces or unfulfilling roles – it’s just a symptom of how my brain works. I am happiest and most productive when jumping from task to task in short bursts. No job I’ve had, whether an entry-level communications position or the executive director role I most recently held, has given me the freedom to work like that.

Jul 1, 2024 | futurewomen.com | Tina Makereti |Bri Lee |Melanie Joosten |Alice Monfries

One of the protagonists of my new novel, The Mires, is a single mother of two named Keri. It’s my first time writing about single parenthood in a novel, and to do the experience justice, Keri’s life is derived from parts of my own, particularly before I started writing. Writing changed my life, and my work, forever.

Jun 19, 2024 | killyourdarlings.com.au | Melanie Joosten

Show Your Working is a regular column exploring how writers get things done. In this instalment, we take a peek into the writing routine of award-winning author Melanie Joosten. Her latest novel, Like Fire-Hearted Suns, is out now. Your latest novel is historical fiction. What inspired you to write about the suffragettes? I knew that British women had really fought for the right to vote. Their conviction and persistence were fascinating to me.

Jun 14, 2024 | futurewomen.com | Bri Lee |Melanie Joosten |Alice Monfries |Ayesha Inoon

A couple of years ago when I started telling people that my next book was a novel, the responses were… mixed. It was not what they were expecting. There was a little suspicion or perhaps a touch of doubt. Who does she think she is? When my debut memoir, Eggshell Skull, came out in 2018 it announced me to the world as a non-fiction author. I followed it up with Beauty and Who Gets to Be Smart, both of which are hard-hitting, issues-based investigations and personal, argumentative works.