Melissa Scholes Young is the author of the award-winning novels, “Flood” and “The Hive.” She received the Shelf Unbound Best Book Award in 2021 and the Next Generation Indie Book Award in 2023. She’s published two chapbooks, “Scrap Metal Baby” and “Guinea Pig.” She serves as editor of “Grace in Darkness,” “Furious Gravity” and “Grace in Love,” anthologies by D.C. women writers. Her essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Ms., The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Literary Hub and Believer Magazine. She’s received fellowships and grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Carmargo Foundation, Mellon Foundation and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. A first generation college student from Hannibal, Mo., she is professor in the Literature Department of American University.