Melissa Walker
Encyclopedia
Melissa Walker is an American author, working primarily in the young adult (teen) genre. She is also a freelance writer and has held several editorial positions at American magazines. She is the author of the Violet on the Runway series of novels.
and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
. She is the daughter of Nancy Day Walker of Chapel Hill, N.C., a retired biology teacher, and the late Capt. John A. Walker Jr., a retired naval officer. Because her father was stationed at the U.S. embassy in London when she was born, she has dual U.S.-British citizenship. Walker’s father has three children from a previous marriage: Johnny, Tim, and Kristi.
She attended Chapel Hill High School and Vassar College
. At Vassar, she was an English major and prolific writer for the school newspaper The Miscellany News, serving as features editor and editor in chief during her senior year.
Walker lived in London for a year after college. She currently lives in Brooklyn
, New York
, with her husband David Grossman. The couple was married on July 18, 2009, in Grafton, VT. Grossman is the director for business development at Inc.com.
in the summer between her junior and senior years of college. Upon her return to New York from London, she was an assistant editor at Rosie (formerly McCall’s) until it ceased publication in 2002. She was subsequently features editor at ELLEgirl and prom editor at Seventeen
. She has written for numerous magazines, including Glamour
, SELF
, More
, Teen Vogue
, CosmoGirl, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle
, Fitness, and New York
.
Violet on the Runway, Walker’s first novel, was published in 2007. Both sequels, Violet by Design and Violet in Private, were published a mere five months apart in 2008. The trilogy revolving around Violet Greenfield received critical accolades for its "realistic portrait of the fashion industry." She received praise in the young adult realm for weaving themes of body image
and self-esteem
into a coming-of-age tale.
Her latest novel, Lovestruck Summer, was published in May 2009.
Walker writes several blogs: www.melissacwalker.com/blog/; www.iheartdaily.com, a newsletter she co-founded and runs with Anne Ichikawa; and readergirlz.blogspot.com.
Early and Personal Life
Melissa Carol Walker was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
. She is the daughter of Nancy Day Walker of Chapel Hill, N.C., a retired biology teacher, and the late Capt. John A. Walker Jr., a retired naval officer. Because her father was stationed at the U.S. embassy in London when she was born, she has dual U.S.-British citizenship. Walker’s father has three children from a previous marriage: Johnny, Tim, and Kristi.
She attended Chapel Hill High School and Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
. At Vassar, she was an English major and prolific writer for the school newspaper The Miscellany News, serving as features editor and editor in chief during her senior year.
Walker lived in London for a year after college. She currently lives in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, with her husband David Grossman. The couple was married on July 18, 2009, in Grafton, VT. Grossman is the director for business development at Inc.com.
Professional
Walker interned at McCall'sMcCall's
McCall's was a monthly American women's magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called The Queen in 1873...
in the summer between her junior and senior years of college. Upon her return to New York from London, she was an assistant editor at Rosie (formerly McCall’s) until it ceased publication in 2002. She was subsequently features editor at ELLEgirl and prom editor at Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
. She has written for numerous magazines, including Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, SELF
Self (magazine)
Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...
, More
More (magazine)
More, launched in September 1998, is a women's lifestyle magazine published once a month by the Meredith Corporation with a rate base of 1.3 million and a circulation of 1.5 million...
, Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue magazine began as a version of Vogue magazine for teenage girls. This US magazine focuses on fashion and celebrities and offers information about the latest entertainment and feature stories on current issues and events.- Description :...
, CosmoGirl, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle
Family Circle
Family Circle is an American women's magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought...
, Fitness, and New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
.
Violet on the Runway, Walker’s first novel, was published in 2007. Both sequels, Violet by Design and Violet in Private, were published a mere five months apart in 2008. The trilogy revolving around Violet Greenfield received critical accolades for its "realistic portrait of the fashion industry." She received praise in the young adult realm for weaving themes of body image
Body image
Body image refers to a person's perception of the aesthetics and sexual attractiveness of their own body. The phrase body image was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his masterpiece The Image and Appearance of the Human Body...
and self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
into a coming-of-age tale.
Her latest novel, Lovestruck Summer, was published in May 2009.
Walker writes several blogs: www.melissacwalker.com/blog/; www.iheartdaily.com, a newsletter she co-founded and runs with Anne Ichikawa; and readergirlz.blogspot.com.