Melissa Fraterrigo is the author of the forthcoming memoir in essays, The Perils of Girlhood (University of Nebraska Press, September 2025) and also the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press, fall 2017) and the short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review to storySouth, and Notre Dame Review. She has been a finalist for awards from Glimmer Train on multiple occasions, twice nominated for Pushcart Awards, and was the winner of the Sam Adams/Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Contest. She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Butler University in Indianapolis. She also offers instruction on the art and craft of writing at the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana.
online press kit
Interviews, reviews, and podcasts with Melissa
WMUK, “Story Beat.” Kalamazoo NPR, interview with Zinta Aistars
“Bookshelf Picks: New Releases from University of Iowa Authors.” IOWA Magazine, 13 February 2026.
Fraterrigo, Melissa. “How to Write Trauma Without Traumatizing Your Reader with Melissa Fraterrigo.” Writing Your Resilience Podcast, hosted by Lisa Cooper Ellison, episode 108. 5 February 2026.
“Between Desire and Danger: A Review of The Perils of Girlhood.” Review by Patricia Martin, River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, 3 January 2026.
Fraterrigo, Melissa. “The Glory of Writing Memoir.” Qwerty Podcast hosted by Marion Roach Smith, episode 157. 16 January 2026.
Fraterrigo, Melissa. “Braiding Cultural Context into Your Memoir with Melissa Fraterrigo.” Freelance Writing
Direct Podcast with Estelle Erasmus, episode 170. 18 December 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unHd_sT5lZ8
“The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #150.” 4 November 2025.
“The Perils of Girlhood by Melissa Fraterrigo.” Review by Laura Johnson Dahlke, The Linden Review, Fall 2025.
“Kelcey Ervick reviews Melissa Fraterrigo’s The Perils of Girlhood.” Review by Kelcey Ervick, Indiana Authors Awards, Fall 2025.
Fraterrigo, Melissa. “Melissa Fraterrigo and The Perils of Girlhood.” Bad Mothers Podcast, season 2, episode 4. 27 October 2025.
“Melissa Fraterrigo Interviews Melissa Fraterrigo.” Debutiful, 2 October 2025.
“A Lineage of Women and Writers: A Conversation with Melissa Fraterrigo.” Interview by Mary Ardery, Literary Mama, September/October 2025.
“Melissa Fraterrigo Begins a Rally Cry with The Perils of Girlhood.” Review by Caroline Huftalen, Busking at the Seams, 5 September 2025.
Feldkamp, Bonnie Jean. “Finding Kinship in The Perils of Girlhood.” Creators.com ,5 September 2025.
“Q&A with Melissa Fraterrigo.” Interview with Deborah Kalb, Deborah Kalb Books, 4 September 2025.
“4.5 Star Review: The Perils of Girlhood by Melissa Fraterrigo.” Review by Sandy Saucier, Novels Alive, 2 September 2025.
Fraterrigo, Melissa. Author 2 Author Podcast hosted by Bill Kenower, episode 354. 4 September 2025.
“Book Review: The Perils of Girlhood by Melissa Fraterrigo.” Review by Sophie Howe, The Masters Review, 2 September 2025. https://mastersreview.com/book-review-the-perils-of-girlhood-melissa-fraterrigo/
Fraterrigo, Melissa. “Making Meaning of Our Own Life with Melissa Fraterrigo.” Let’s Talk Memoir Podcast, hosted by Ronit Plank, episode 197. 2 September 2025. https://ronitplank.com/2025/09/02/lets-talk-memoir-episode-197-ft-melissa-fraterrigo/
“Melissa Fraterrigo Traverses the Perilous Terrain of Girlhood in Her New Essay Collection.” Interview by Christine Sneed, Newcity Magazine, September 2025. https://lit.newcity.com/2025/09/11/melissa-fraterrigo-traverses-the-perilous-terrain-of-girlhood-in-her-new-essay-collection/
“The Perils of Girlhood: A Memoir in Essays.” August Preview, The Writer’s Chronicle, August 2025. https://writerschronicle.awpwriter.org/TWC/TWC/2025-august/01-The-Big-Conversation.aspx
“Fear Like a River, The Perils of Girlhood, by Melissa Fraterrigo.” Review by Patrick T. Reardon, Third Coast Review, 27 August 2025. https://patricktreardon.com/book-review-the-perils-of-girlhood-a-memoir-in-essays-by-melissa-fraterrigo/
“Melissa Fraterrigo, Author of The Perils of Girlhood: A Memoir in Essays.” Interview by Amy Goldmacher, Hippocampus Magazine, August 2025. https://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2025/08/interview-melissa-fraterrigo-author-of-the-perils-of-girlhood/
“The Perils of Girlhood: Melissa Fraterrigo.” Review by Carlin Steere, Sweet: A Literary Confection, 11 June 2025. https://sweetlit.org/the-perils-of-girlhood-melissa-fraterrigo/
“The Most Perilous Part of Girlhood is That It Ends: on Melissa Fraterrigo’s The Perils of Girlhood.”
Review by Anna Rollins, MER Motherhood Literature & Art, 27 May 2025. https://merliterary.com/2025/05/27/melissa-fraterrigos-the-perils-of-girlhood/
The Rumpus "Living in the Realm of the Subconscious: Talking with Melissa Fraterrigo" by Christine Sneed
The Review Review by Tanya Perkins
Fiction Writers Review "Hard Truths from Vulnerable Places," by Melissa Scholes Young
Heavy Feather Review "Genuine and True: An Interview with Melissa Fraterrigo" with Erin Flanagan
Eco-Fiction Interview with Melissa Fraterrigo by Sheryl Johnston
The Other Stories Podcast with Illana Masad
NET Nebraska Public Radio "All About Books" with Pat Leach
KCUR 89.3 Kansas City NPR - Central Standard
WFYI Indianapolis NPR- "The Art of the Matter" with Sharon Gamble
Write the Book Podcast with Shelagh Connor Shapiro
Rain Taxi "How People Become Ghosts" by Steven Wingate