A natural-born storyteller, Melaina Faranda has spent more than thirty years teaching and facilitating in schools, literature festivals, state writers' centres, retreats, libraries, and private and public organisations.

Her creative writing and storytelling workshops and masterclasses are celebrated for the vitality, generosity, inspiration and sense of joy she brings to every session, consistently resulting in rave feedback and repeat invitations across Australia.

Melaina is the author of seventy Young Adult and Children's books, published nationally and internationally by ten major publishers, with many titles widely used in schools across Australia. Her remarkable body of work spans dozens of titles across a wide range of genres and themes, reflecting a lifelong passion for story, creativity and human connection.

Once a dreamy barefoot country kid and now a dreamy (mostly) barefoot country adult, Melaina has channelled a lifetime of adventures, observations and stories into a rich creative life. Years spent travelling in far-flung places (and trying not to verbally deluge any randomly encountered native English speaker with accumulated observations) helped cultivate a lifelong journalling practice, which she now draws upon in both her writing and facilitation.

Melaina also brings more than three decades of experience creating, hosting and facilitating women's and girls' circles, rites of passage, and mythopoetic experiences. Her rich life experience informs everything she writes, teaches and shares.